How the Not-Invented-Here Syndrome can slow you down
In the early 2000s, Open Innovation emerged as a response to the Not-Invented-Here(NIH) Syndrome - a mindset particularly prevalent in engineering and IT organisations.Companies often preferred to build their own solutions rather than adopting existing ones, even when viable alternatives were readily available.
The rise of open innovation, open source, and open data has since accelerated technological progress for everyone. Instead of investing heavily in developing proprietary solutions, businesses can now leverage what already exists, saving time, money, and effort.
Why do companies still build their own solutions?
Despite these advancements, some businesses still choose to develop their own versions of existing solutions. The reasons often include:
A belief that their needs are unique - assuming no existing solution will fully address their challenges.
A desire for ownership and control - feeling that an in-house solution offers more flexibility or security.
However, these assumptions often lead to inefficiencies and long-term challenges.
Why reinventing the wheel can be a costly mistake
If a solution already exists in the market, trying to replicate it internally is rarely the best approach. Here’s why:
Existing solutions are already optimised. Established providers continuously improve their products, meaning businesses benefit from ongoing innovation at a fraction of the cost.
It’s more cost-effective. The upfront investment has already been made by others, allowing you to buy into a mature solution rather than funding development from scratch.
Avoiding long-term technical debt. When you build your own solution, you’re responsible for maintenance, updates, and troubleshooting, costs that only increase over time. Dependence on internal teams or external consultants can create bottlenecks and slow progress.
The trap of sunk costs
Once a company has invested in a proprietary solution, it becomes difficult to abandon, even when it’s no longer efficient. This is how businesses end up with a giant with feet of clay, a fragile system that limits agility and innovation.
The Smarter Approach
Rather than building something from the ground up, focus on what differentiates your business. If a solution already exists in the market, build on top of it rather than duplicating efforts. The key to staying competitive isn’t in owning every piece of technology, it’s in leveraging the best tools available to drive your core business forward.
How the Not-Invented-Here Syndrome can slow you down
In the early 2000s, Open Innovation emerged as a response to the Not-Invented-Here(NIH) Syndrome - a mindset particularly prevalent in engineering and IT organisations.Companies often preferred to build their own solutions rather than adopting existing ones, even when viable alternatives were readily available.
The rise of open innovation, open source, and open data has since accelerated technological progress for everyone. Instead of investing heavily in developing proprietary solutions, businesses can now leverage what already exists, saving time, money, and effort.
Why do companies still build their own solutions?
Despite these advancements, some businesses still choose to develop their own versions of existing solutions. The reasons often include:
A belief that their needs are unique - assuming no existing solution will fully address their challenges.
A desire for ownership and control - feeling that an in-house solution offers more flexibility or security.
However, these assumptions often lead to inefficiencies and long-term challenges.
Why reinventing the wheel can be a costly mistake
If a solution already exists in the market, trying to replicate it internally is rarely the best approach. Here’s why:
Existing solutions are already optimised. Established providers continuously improve their products, meaning businesses benefit from ongoing innovation at a fraction of the cost.
It’s more cost-effective. The upfront investment has already been made by others, allowing you to buy into a mature solution rather than funding development from scratch.
Avoiding long-term technical debt. When you build your own solution, you’re responsible for maintenance, updates, and troubleshooting, costs that only increase over time. Dependence on internal teams or external consultants can create bottlenecks and slow progress.
The trap of sunk costs
Once a company has invested in a proprietary solution, it becomes difficult to abandon, even when it’s no longer efficient. This is how businesses end up with a giant with feet of clay, a fragile system that limits agility and innovation.
The Smarter Approach
Rather than building something from the ground up, focus on what differentiates your business. If a solution already exists in the market, build on top of it rather than duplicating efforts. The key to staying competitive isn’t in owning every piece of technology, it’s in leveraging the best tools available to drive your core business forward.
s the Swedish real estate market continues to evolve, new trends are emerging, particularly within the commercial sector. Our latest Market Intelligence Report offers an in-depth look into these shifts, providing deep insights and predictions for 2024that could help the industry better understand the market. And where to look for opportunities.
The past six months we have seen a significant activity within the Swedish commercial real estate scene. Over 3,005 companies, each with more than five employees, have relocated, showcasing a trend that follows previous years patterns. Notably, businesses ranging from 5 to 9 employees formed the majority of these moves, highlighting a high activity within this segment.
The Predictive pulse of 2024
Looking ahead, our analytical models have identified a high relocation indicator for 4,698 companies having more than five employees. This indication, drawn from AI models and extensive market data, suggests an active year with a lot of potential. Interestingly, the bulk of this movement is expected from companies with 10 to 49 employees, pointing to a important reshuffling in the commercial real estate space.
Regional Revelations
The report sheds light on the geographical nuances of these relocations. While the Stockholm region has traditionally been a hub of activity, the forthcoming year places a spotlight on Gothenburg, anticipating a higher volume of larger entities on the move. This regional redistribution of commercial real estate activity underscores the diverse opportunities unfolding across Sweden.
In light of that, we also see that companies and production units with more than 20employees in Stockholm tend to move more often than in other parts of the country. 33% of companies in Stockholm changed address during the last three years, while the same number in Gothenburg is 27%.
The Industries on the Move
Diving deeper, certain industries emerge as more mobile than others, including sectors like insurance, information services, and staffing solutions.
Why This Matters
For businesses and investors, understanding these patterns is crucial. The shifting sands of the commercial real estate market offer both challenges and opportunities. For investors, it's a chance to anticipate demand in growing areas and sectors. For businesses, the insights provide a roadmap for strategic decisions about where to plant their flags in a competitive landscape.
Access the full report by clicking on the picture below
s the Swedish real estate market continues to evolve, new trends are emerging, particularly within the commercial sector. Our latest Market Intelligence Report offers an in-depth look into these shifts, providing deep insights and predictions for 2024that could help the industry better understand the market. And where to look for opportunities.
The past six months we have seen a significant activity within the Swedish commercial real estate scene. Over 3,005 companies, each with more than five employees, have relocated, showcasing a trend that follows previous years patterns. Notably, businesses ranging from 5 to 9 employees formed the majority of these moves, highlighting a high activity within this segment.
The Predictive pulse of 2024
Looking ahead, our analytical models have identified a high relocation indicator for 4,698 companies having more than five employees. This indication, drawn from AI models and extensive market data, suggests an active year with a lot of potential. Interestingly, the bulk of this movement is expected from companies with 10 to 49 employees, pointing to a important reshuffling in the commercial real estate space.
Regional Revelations
The report sheds light on the geographical nuances of these relocations. While the Stockholm region has traditionally been a hub of activity, the forthcoming year places a spotlight on Gothenburg, anticipating a higher volume of larger entities on the move. This regional redistribution of commercial real estate activity underscores the diverse opportunities unfolding across Sweden.
In light of that, we also see that companies and production units with more than 20employees in Stockholm tend to move more often than in other parts of the country. 33% of companies in Stockholm changed address during the last three years, while the same number in Gothenburg is 27%.
The Industries on the Move
Diving deeper, certain industries emerge as more mobile than others, including sectors like insurance, information services, and staffing solutions.
Why This Matters
For businesses and investors, understanding these patterns is crucial. The shifting sands of the commercial real estate market offer both challenges and opportunities. For investors, it's a chance to anticipate demand in growing areas and sectors. For businesses, the insights provide a roadmap for strategic decisions about where to plant their flags in a competitive landscape.
Access the full report by clicking on the picture below
s a real estate professional, you know that timing and information are everything. Identifying which businesses are planning to relocate mean the difference between closing a deal and missing out.
But what if you could predict these moves before they happen?
At Tembi we have developed a solution that gives real estate professional market foresight, and a real competitive edge establishing early client relationships. Our advanced artificial intelligence platform provides you with the ability to anticipate company relocations, transforming the way you secure leads and grow your business.
The challenge of predicting moves
Traditionally, figuring out which companies are planning to move offices has been a matter of luck or extensive networking and marketing campaigns based on limited data. By the time, a company is ready to look for a new location, or inverse a property hits the market, it is already a race against dozens of other real estate professionals who are also in the know.
Tembi's predictive edge
At Tembi, we have leveraged artificial intelligence to change the game. Our Real Estate Market Intelligence solution is not just another database – it is a predictive tool that can forecast whether a company will move in the next 6 to 12 months, often before the company itself has identified the need to relocate.
Select an area get all the necessary industry & company data
How it works
Our proprietary machine learning models analyse vast amounts of data points, from building data and economic trends to company growth patterns, to provide a prediction score on companies likely to move. This insight gives you a significant head start to prepare a proposal, reach out, build a relationship, and maybe even secure a deal before others even know there is an opportunity.
And if you own properties, our Moving Prediction Score is a great tool to health check your current tenants and where they “stand.”
Precision score
Over time, our machine learning models have become very precise. When we estimate that a company will grow, we are right nine out of ten times , giving it a 90% precision rate. And most companies that will move, we capture.
Access comprehensive data
But we do not just stop at predictions. Tembi provides you with access to comprehensive company data, including size, financial health, and industry segmentation. This information allows you to tailor your approach to each potential client's unique needs and preferences.
Filters help you find exactly the type of companies you look for
Gain a competitive advantage
With Tembi’s solution, you are not just getting leads; you are getting a consultant's perspective. Understanding the dynamics of the real estate market is crucial, and we give you the knowledge and insights to navigate it effectively. This means you can position yourself strategically in the market and close deals faster, giving you that competitive edge.
Currently, Tembi's Real Estate Market Intelligence is available to real estate professionals operating in Denmark and Sweden, with plans to expand to other markets soon.
Are you interested in getting more information. Please fill out the form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
s a real estate professional, you know that timing and information are everything. Identifying which businesses are planning to relocate mean the difference between closing a deal and missing out.
But what if you could predict these moves before they happen?
At Tembi we have developed a solution that gives real estate professional market foresight, and a real competitive edge establishing early client relationships. Our advanced artificial intelligence platform provides you with the ability to anticipate company relocations, transforming the way you secure leads and grow your business.
The challenge of predicting moves
Traditionally, figuring out which companies are planning to move offices has been a matter of luck or extensive networking and marketing campaigns based on limited data. By the time, a company is ready to look for a new location, or inverse a property hits the market, it is already a race against dozens of other real estate professionals who are also in the know.
Tembi's predictive edge
At Tembi, we have leveraged artificial intelligence to change the game. Our Real Estate Market Intelligence solution is not just another database – it is a predictive tool that can forecast whether a company will move in the next 6 to 12 months, often before the company itself has identified the need to relocate.
Select an area get all the necessary industry & company data
How it works
Our proprietary machine learning models analyse vast amounts of data points, from building data and economic trends to company growth patterns, to provide a prediction score on companies likely to move. This insight gives you a significant head start to prepare a proposal, reach out, build a relationship, and maybe even secure a deal before others even know there is an opportunity.
And if you own properties, our Moving Prediction Score is a great tool to health check your current tenants and where they “stand.”
Precision score
Over time, our machine learning models have become very precise. When we estimate that a company will grow, we are right nine out of ten times , giving it a 90% precision rate. And most companies that will move, we capture.
Access comprehensive data
But we do not just stop at predictions. Tembi provides you with access to comprehensive company data, including size, financial health, and industry segmentation. This information allows you to tailor your approach to each potential client's unique needs and preferences.
Filters help you find exactly the type of companies you look for
Gain a competitive advantage
With Tembi’s solution, you are not just getting leads; you are getting a consultant's perspective. Understanding the dynamics of the real estate market is crucial, and we give you the knowledge and insights to navigate it effectively. This means you can position yourself strategically in the market and close deals faster, giving you that competitive edge.
Currently, Tembi's Real Estate Market Intelligence is available to real estate professionals operating in Denmark and Sweden, with plans to expand to other markets soon.
Are you interested in getting more information. Please fill out the form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
f you knew which company would move within the next six, or twelve months, what would you do with that prediction?
During the last month I have talked with many Real Estate professionals within different sectors in the real estate industry, asking them the question how an understanding of companies moving intentions would change their work and approach. As expected, they all had different answers and saw different possibilities.
Below I have paraphrased three answers that stood out during my conversations.
The Real Estate Agent
“As a Real Estate Agent, I would analyze our commercial rental pipeline to identify nearby businesses in the right segment with a high probability of moving. Then reach out to them. But I would also use that knowledge when I try to close potential new clients.”
The Real Estate Asset Manager
“Check our tenant status and see if anyone is about to move. The dialogue with our tenants is the most important thing, and this insight will allow me to reach out to them proactively, talk about their journey, and understand if their needs will change soon. So, we can make sure that they will be relocated and stay as tenants with us.”
The Real Estate Developer
“Of course, twelve months is a short time frame for us. However, previously, 12 months is far too short for us, but we are experiencing more frequently than before that large companies are not as inclined to commit to leases 24-36 months in advance. In addition to being very interested in understanding how an area is developing and where there will be a need for future offices, we would also use that knowledge to ensure we find tenants for our upcoming projects.”
Tembi’s Moving Prediction Score
Predicting if a company will move or not is not science fiction anymore. By continuously collecting and gathering millions of data points, we have at Tembi developed a Moving Prediction Score (MPS) that can predict with over 90% precision if a company will move within the next twelve months. That is about 20 times as good as a random guess.
Using artificial intelligence (AI) and gathering unique data, we can predict how a company will grow, how the number of employees will change and when they would need to move to new offices, as well as understand where they might want to move. Calculating the MPS, we do not only look at historical data, we combine different machine learning models and use this across industries and geographies. Our models are trained on 80 % of the company locations, and we test the models the remaining 20 % to see if we are right or wrong. And that is how we can reach a validated precision of 90%.
If you are interested in hearing more about how our Moving Prediction Score works, or how it can be applied to your business, do not hesitate to reach out to us.
f you knew which company would move within the next six, or twelve months, what would you do with that prediction?
During the last month I have talked with many Real Estate professionals within different sectors in the real estate industry, asking them the question how an understanding of companies moving intentions would change their work and approach. As expected, they all had different answers and saw different possibilities.
Below I have paraphrased three answers that stood out during my conversations.
The Real Estate Agent
“As a Real Estate Agent, I would analyze our commercial rental pipeline to identify nearby businesses in the right segment with a high probability of moving. Then reach out to them. But I would also use that knowledge when I try to close potential new clients.”
The Real Estate Asset Manager
“Check our tenant status and see if anyone is about to move. The dialogue with our tenants is the most important thing, and this insight will allow me to reach out to them proactively, talk about their journey, and understand if their needs will change soon. So, we can make sure that they will be relocated and stay as tenants with us.”
The Real Estate Developer
“Of course, twelve months is a short time frame for us. However, previously, 12 months is far too short for us, but we are experiencing more frequently than before that large companies are not as inclined to commit to leases 24-36 months in advance. In addition to being very interested in understanding how an area is developing and where there will be a need for future offices, we would also use that knowledge to ensure we find tenants for our upcoming projects.”
Tembi’s Moving Prediction Score
Predicting if a company will move or not is not science fiction anymore. By continuously collecting and gathering millions of data points, we have at Tembi developed a Moving Prediction Score (MPS) that can predict with over 90% precision if a company will move within the next twelve months. That is about 20 times as good as a random guess.
Using artificial intelligence (AI) and gathering unique data, we can predict how a company will grow, how the number of employees will change and when they would need to move to new offices, as well as understand where they might want to move. Calculating the MPS, we do not only look at historical data, we combine different machine learning models and use this across industries and geographies. Our models are trained on 80 % of the company locations, and we test the models the remaining 20 % to see if we are right or wrong. And that is how we can reach a validated precision of 90%.
If you are interested in hearing more about how our Moving Prediction Score works, or how it can be applied to your business, do not hesitate to reach out to us.
n the fast-paced last-mile delivery sector, market intelligence is essential for success. By understanding your customers, competitors, and market trends, you can make informed decisions that lead to growth and profitability.
Market intelligence can help you identify new market opportunities, improve operational efficiency, and develop new products and services. It can also help you stay ahead of the competition and differentiate yourself from the crowd.
In this blog post, we have outlined a few specific examples of how last-mile delivery companies are using market intelligence to grow their businesses.
Staying ahead of the competition Market intelligence can help last-mile delivery companies understand the competitive landscape and identify new ways to differentiate themselves. For example, a company might use market intelligence to identify new technologies that can help them improve their delivery services, or to develop new pricing strategies that are more competitive.
Identifying new market opportunities By tracking market trends and customer behaviour, last-mile delivery companies can identify new markets to expand into or how green delivery is developing. For example, a company might identify a growing demand for same-day delivery in a particular city or region, or an understanding of the competitor's solution and market penetration of different delivery solutions.
Understanding website traffic patterns and consumer purchase behaviour Last-mile delivery companies can today track which product categories are growing and which webshop’s are growing in popularity, as well as which international sites are exporting to one’s country. By doing so, last-mile delivery companies can establish early partnerships abroad and better equip themselves for future demands and growth.
Developing new products and services Market intelligence can help last-mile delivery companies understand the needs of their customers and develop new products and services that meet those needs. For example, a company might develop a new service that delivers packages to customers' workplaces, or a possibility to get delivery at very specific times in the evening.
Improving operational efficiency Market intelligence can help last-mile delivery companies optimise their delivery routes, reduce costs, and improve delivery times. For example, a company might use market intelligence to identify the best locations for new warehouses, or to develop more efficient delivery schedules.
Getting good data for Market Intelligence is not easy, as it requires a lot of time, and quite often a big investment in data infrastructure and a plan to keep high quality and ensure data is actualized. Hence, many decisions are taken without bringing external factors into the mix or using poor data as a ground.
Different Market Intelligence platforms collect different types of data and can help companies better understand the market dynamics. Here are a few tips and suppliers for getting started with market intelligence.
Getting started with Market Intelligence
As with any strategic decision, starting the process, you need to define your goals. Market intelligence is not an answer, it is a tool. Are you looking for growth within a particular type of webshops, or price development of different delivery methods? Or a more complex question around identify new market opportunities. Once you know your goals, you can start to identify the data and insights you need.
Collect data There are many different sources of market intelligence data, including customer surveys, industry reports, and government statistics. You can also collect data from your own internal systems, such as sales data and customer feedback.
Analyse the data Once you have collected data, you need to analyse it to identify trends and insights. You can use a variety of tools and techniques to analyze data, such as data analytics software or more advanced methods using machine learning.
Share the insights Once you have gained insights from your market intelligence data, you should to share them with your team to gather input, feedback, and get new ideas so you can keep iterating your work. You can either do a presentation or set up a dashboard that monitors the data and actualises your insights.
Tembi and Market Intelligence for Last-Mile Delivery
Our E-commerce Intelligence Platform – EIP – monitors every webshop on the market, and provides data around providers, prices, and delivery methods. This data can be filtered from a webshop category perspective or for example revenue, providing a comprehensive overview and intelligence of the market and competitors. Hence, EIP both collects and analyses the data, and provides (shares) the insights in simple overview. In other words, decision-ready intelligence.
n the fast-paced last-mile delivery sector, market intelligence is essential for success. By understanding your customers, competitors, and market trends, you can make informed decisions that lead to growth and profitability.
Market intelligence can help you identify new market opportunities, improve operational efficiency, and develop new products and services. It can also help you stay ahead of the competition and differentiate yourself from the crowd.
In this blog post, we have outlined a few specific examples of how last-mile delivery companies are using market intelligence to grow their businesses.
Staying ahead of the competition Market intelligence can help last-mile delivery companies understand the competitive landscape and identify new ways to differentiate themselves. For example, a company might use market intelligence to identify new technologies that can help them improve their delivery services, or to develop new pricing strategies that are more competitive.
Identifying new market opportunities By tracking market trends and customer behaviour, last-mile delivery companies can identify new markets to expand into or how green delivery is developing. For example, a company might identify a growing demand for same-day delivery in a particular city or region, or an understanding of the competitor's solution and market penetration of different delivery solutions.
Understanding website traffic patterns and consumer purchase behaviour Last-mile delivery companies can today track which product categories are growing and which webshop’s are growing in popularity, as well as which international sites are exporting to one’s country. By doing so, last-mile delivery companies can establish early partnerships abroad and better equip themselves for future demands and growth.
Developing new products and services Market intelligence can help last-mile delivery companies understand the needs of their customers and develop new products and services that meet those needs. For example, a company might develop a new service that delivers packages to customers' workplaces, or a possibility to get delivery at very specific times in the evening.
Improving operational efficiency Market intelligence can help last-mile delivery companies optimise their delivery routes, reduce costs, and improve delivery times. For example, a company might use market intelligence to identify the best locations for new warehouses, or to develop more efficient delivery schedules.
Getting good data for Market Intelligence is not easy, as it requires a lot of time, and quite often a big investment in data infrastructure and a plan to keep high quality and ensure data is actualized. Hence, many decisions are taken without bringing external factors into the mix or using poor data as a ground.
Different Market Intelligence platforms collect different types of data and can help companies better understand the market dynamics. Here are a few tips and suppliers for getting started with market intelligence.
Getting started with Market Intelligence
As with any strategic decision, starting the process, you need to define your goals. Market intelligence is not an answer, it is a tool. Are you looking for growth within a particular type of webshops, or price development of different delivery methods? Or a more complex question around identify new market opportunities. Once you know your goals, you can start to identify the data and insights you need.
Collect data There are many different sources of market intelligence data, including customer surveys, industry reports, and government statistics. You can also collect data from your own internal systems, such as sales data and customer feedback.
Analyse the data Once you have collected data, you need to analyse it to identify trends and insights. You can use a variety of tools and techniques to analyze data, such as data analytics software or more advanced methods using machine learning.
Share the insights Once you have gained insights from your market intelligence data, you should to share them with your team to gather input, feedback, and get new ideas so you can keep iterating your work. You can either do a presentation or set up a dashboard that monitors the data and actualises your insights.
Tembi and Market Intelligence for Last-Mile Delivery
Our E-commerce Intelligence Platform – EIP – monitors every webshop on the market, and provides data around providers, prices, and delivery methods. This data can be filtered from a webshop category perspective or for example revenue, providing a comprehensive overview and intelligence of the market and competitors. Hence, EIP both collects and analyses the data, and provides (shares) the insights in simple overview. In other words, decision-ready intelligence.
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Across Europe, the last-mile delivery landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by consumer preferences, sustainability pressures, and regulatory changes. Recent data from delivery providers, postal services, and consumer surveys across 13 European countries - Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania - reveals distinct regional patterns in how online purchases reach consumers.
A recent analysis from our e-commerce database, based on data from over 140,000 webshops across these countries, provides deeper insights into how extensively online retailers offer different delivery methods.
How many webshops offer (in %) different delivery methods. Data from Tembi.
Nordic markets lead with out-of-home delivery
Nordic countries have strongly adopted out-of-home (OOH) delivery methods, including parcel shops and lockers. Sweden traditionally favours parcel shops, with Tembi’s data showing 36.1% of Swedish webshops offering this method. Denmark stands out with parcel shop deliveries offered by 57.6% of webshops, reflecting extensive and convenient networks.
Finland is a leader in parcel locker adoption - 34.1% of Finnish webshops offer locker delivery, supported by a widespread network of accessible 24/7 lockers. Norway balances between home (52.1% of webshops) and parcel shop deliveries (33%), with locker installations growing at 9%, indicating increasing preference for flexible, automated solutions.
Parcel lockers thrive in the Baltics
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania showcase exceptional acceptance of parcel lockers. In Estonia, a remarkable 71.8% of webshops offer parcel lockers, validating Estonia’s leadership in locker infrastructure. Lithuania and Latvia follow closely, with 66.4% and 54.7% respectively offering parcel lockers, strongly supporting consumer preferences for convenience and reduced environmental impact.
Mixed preferences in Western Europe
In Western Europe, the Netherlands strongly prefers collect-yourself options, with Tembi data showing 76.4% of Dutch webshops offer this method. Home delivery remains prevalent, offered by 27.5% of retailers, aligning with the Dutch consumer's primary preference for doorstep delivery but complemented significantly by collect-yourself options.
Italy, traditionally a home-delivery market, now shows a strong adoption of collect-yourself options, offered by 64.9% of Italian webshops. Out-of-home delivery is now Italy's second most popular delivery option after home delivery, driven by convenience and reliability.
Rising OOH and workplace delivery in Central and Eastern Europe
Eastern European markets like Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria traditionally favoured home delivery but now rapidly integrate OOH options. Slovakia prominently features home delivery (76.9%) but also offers parcel shops through 42.9% of webshops, echoing the region's evolving preferences.
Hungary continues to favour home delivery significantly (82.6%), but parcel lockers have rapidly expanded, with about 37.7% of webshops offering this method. Romania, while strongly home-delivery oriented (83.9%), sees parcel lockers emerging as supplementary (21.2%).
Bulgaria uniquely highlights workplace delivery, offered by 36.2% of online retailers, underscoring its importance in urban logistics. This method provides practical advantages in urban areas where home deliveries may face reliability challenges.
Regulatory push towards sustainable delivery
Belgium recently mandated online retailers offer at least two delivery options at checkout, including one eco-friendly alternative such as parcel shops or lockers. Effective from 2024, this regulation aims to reduce failed deliveries, lower emissions, and encourage sustainable consumer choices (bpost, 2024). This legislative move sets a precedent that other European countries might soon follow.
Sustainability and infrastructure implications
Parcel lockers and out-of-home delivery significantly reduce last-mile delivery emissions, potentially cutting CO₂ by approximately 30% compared to home delivery, especially when consumers collect parcels using sustainable transport methods (McKinsey, 2024). Dense networks of lockers and collection points, common in Estonia, Finland, and the Netherlands, enhance urban delivery efficiency, reduce traffic congestion, and improve consumer satisfaction.
Future outlook
European last-mile delivery is undeniably trending towards flexible, sustainable methods that reflect varied regional consumer behaviours. As OOH options mature and consumer awareness grows, home delivery will increasingly coexist with alternative methods. Carriers and retailers who proactively adapt will lead in delivering not just parcels, but also consumer satisfaction and sustainability.
Our recent analysis of aggregated data from webshops in selected European countries confirms two straightforward insights about cross-border selling: webshops typically target neighbouring countries or seek out larger markets to grow their potential customer base. While these findings may seem intuitive, the data illustrates clearly how consistently webshops employ these strategies - particularly when supported by strong partnerships with local logistics providers and prioritised investments in localisation.
The obvious role of proximity Webshops in Denmark primarily target Sweden (18.9%) and Germany (18%), reflecting straightforward cross-border logistics and cultural familiarity. Similarly, Dutch webshops predominantly sell to Belgium (17.4%) and Germany (13.5%), confirming that short distances and established regional logistics make neighbouring countries natural first choices. Swedish webshops follow the same logic, favouring close neighbours Denmark (17.2%) and Finland (15.9%).
Targeting larger markets beyond proximity Webshops strategically pursue larger markets with robust consumer bases, such as Germany and France, regardless of direct proximity. For instance, Italian webshops commonly sell to Germany (14.2%) and France (14.1%), driven significantly by the size and high purchasing power of these markets, alongside geographical closeness.
Distinctive patterns in Eastern Europe Webshops in Hungary display notably low cross-border priority: only 4.4% offer shipping options to Germany, Slovakia, and Romania. This cautious approach likely reflects specific economic calculations, infrastructural limitations, or less developed cross-border logistics partnerships, rather than purely geographical factors.
Latvian webshops clearly illustrate the proximity factor again, heavily targeting neighbouring Lithuania (16.8%) and Estonia (15.9%), highlighting ease of trade through geographic and cultural closeness.
Notable differences in cross-border engagement levels A significant finding from the data is the variation in how actively webshops pursue international markets. Factors driving these differences include the maturity of the domestic e-commerce market, logistical infrastructure, consumer purchasing power, and particularly the level of investment into localisation and logistics solutions. Engagement levels notably decline with increasing distance, indicating logistical complexity and higher costs likely deter webshops from extensive international expansion beyond neighbouring or well-established larger markets.
Concluding remarks Our aggregated data confirms proximity and market size as primary drivers for cross-border e-commerce decisions. However, the diverse patterns and varying engagement levels suggest that webshop decisions are influenced by more complex strategic factors, including infrastructural readiness, economic conditions, logistical capabilities, and the willingness to invest in localised consumer experiences. These factors ultimately shape cross-border success far more than geographical closeness alone.
Last‑mile delivery shapes the online shopping experience, influencing conversion rates, repeat purchases and brand perception.
At Tembi, we analysed over 600,000 webshops to understand two aspects of last‑mile competition in 17 European markets, the market share of the top delivery provider and the number of distinct delivery partners each webshop integrates, and how these factors drive innovation and strategy.
Delivery providers with the highest market presence in webshops’ checkout flows, by country.
Methodology: Tracking integrations not shipments
Rather than estimating parcel volumes, we examined the presence of delivery providers in webshop back‑ends. Every integration represents a commitment by the webshop to offer that carrier at checkout. By counting integrations, we capture:
• Breadth of choice available to consumers
• Carrier prominence within each market
For each country - from Belgium to Slovakia - we identified the top three providers by share of webshop integrations and counted the total number of providers in active use. We excluded providers that have less than 1% market presence.
These figures show that while national postal services still lead in many markets, no single carrier dominates everywhere, and the number of options ranges from three providers in Iceland to more than twenty in the Netherlands.
Consolidated vs Fragmented markets
We classify markets by the checkout presence held by the leading provider:
Highly fragmented (leader < 33%) Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Romania
Fragmentation in focus, number of competing providers
Adding the count of distinct delivery partners shows where compeition is the hightst:
Most fragmented markets, such as the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden, offer webshops a broad selection of carriers to tailor delivery options by region, price‑point and service level. In the Netherlands, for instance, there are over twenty distinct last‑mile providers active across the market. By contrast, in Iceland and Bulgaria webshops have fewer providers to choose from, simplifying management but concentrating risk, and less consumer choice. Finland sits between these extremes, with around fourteen partners in use yet Posti being present in 62% of all webshop checkouts.
Analysis, geography, national postal providers and innovation
Geography plays a crucial role in shaping last‑mile dynamics. In countries with vast rural areas and archipelagos - most notably Finland and Sweden - webshops need delivery partners that can reliably serve both remote villages and dense urban centres. National posts excel at this: Posti’s 62 percent presence in Finland and PostNord’s 33 percent in Sweden reflect their ability to cover every corner of the country, from Lapland to the Helsinki suburbs, or from the Stockholm archipelago to the far north. This extensive network cements their leadership and makes it challenging for smaller couriers to compete on a truly national scale.
At the same time, urban populations in these markets demand faster and more flexible options. That’s why even highly consolidated markets like Finland still see around fourteen delivery partners in use, and Sweden nearly eighteen. Specialist providers focus on city‑centre same‑day deliveries, parcel locker networks and niche eco‑services, carving out space alongside the national postal incumbent.
By contrast, in highly fragmented markets such as the Netherlands, Italy and Romania, geography is less of a barrier - population density is higher and distances shorter - so webshops routinely offer 18 to 22 different providers to meet varied consumer preferences. National posts such as PostNL and Poste Italiane must innovate continually, rolling out premium services like carbon‑neutral shipping, click‑and‑collect lockers and advanced tracking, and partnering with crowd‑shipping or on‑demand couriers to fill gaps.
In moderately consolidated markets - Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and the Baltics - the mix reflects mid‑range geography and market size. National posts share the stage with regional specialists (such as GLS and DPD), driving innovation in service differentiation, tech integration and sustainability (electric fleets, bike couriers, offset programmes).
Finally, in smaller or more remote markets like Iceland and Bulgaria, webshops often layer core postal services with a handful (three to five) of local same‑day or on‑demand couriers to ensure coverage. Even here, national posts are expanding parcel‑locker footprints and app‑based tracking to meet rising consumer expectations - while keeping a watchful eye towards rapidly growing new digital-first ventures.
Understanding these overlapping factors - market consolidation, provider fragmentation and geographic realities - allows e‑commerce leaders to tailor last‑mile strategies. In widespread, low‑density regions, deep partnerships with national posts ensure full coverage; in dense, competitive markets, robust multi‑carrier technology and innovative niche services deliver the flexibility consumers expect.
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When starting an online store, businesses can either build a custom site from scratch or choose a ready-made e-commerce platform to manage their online sales. Over the years, a variety of commerce platforms have emerged - from large international solutions like Shopify and WooCommerce to smaller local specialists such as Dandomain in Denmark or Voog in Estonia. Choosing the right platform is a crucial decision not only for merchants, but also for the ecosystem of plug-in developers and service providers around these platforms. Not all add-ons work with every framework, so understanding a platform’s market penetration in each region is key to gauging its success and where to invest resources.
In this article, we take a data-driven look at the most widely used e-commerce platforms across selected European countries. The analysis spans 17 markets (Belgium, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden, and Slovakia), covering a total of over 600,000 active webshops (online stores) identified in these countries. The findings confirm that two platforms dominate the landscape: WooCommerce - the open-source plugin for WordPress - and Shopify - the popular SaaS commerce platform. Together, these two power roughly 70-73% of all identified webshops in these markets. WooCommerce alone accounts for about 40% of the stores, making it the preferred solution overall, while Shopify powers around 30% of the stores, having rapidly grown in recent years. This duopoly leaves a long tail of other platforms sharing the remaining ~30% of the market. Nonetheless, those “other” platforms number in the tens of thousands of sites - for instance, over 15,000 webshops use PrestaShop and more than 13,000 use Magento across these countries - indicating significant niches and opportunities still exist beyond the top two.
It’s likely no surprise that Shopify and WooCommerce dominate across Europe’s e-commerce scene. But who are the other key players in each country, and how do platform preferences vary by market? Below, we break down the leading commerce platforms in each country, highlighting local trends, growth patterns, and the fit of certain platforms to regional needs.
Platform Popularity by Country
Belgium 🇧🇪
Belgium has roughly 20,534 active e-commerce sites in total. The Belgian market is notable for being one of the few where Shopify takes the top spot in our analysis. About half of Belgian webshops (estimated 10,233 sites) are built on Shopify. The next most popular framework is WooCommerce with around 5,181 sites (about 25% share). Combined, Shopify and WooCommerce power roughly 75% of Belgium’s online stores. The remaining quarter is split among other platforms.
PrestaShop is the third most common, used by ~1.7k sites (~8%), followed by Magento (~1.1k sites, ~5%). Notably, Lightspeed - a platform known for its integrated point-of-sale and e-commerce (and which acquired a Dutch e-commerce provider - SEOshop - popular in Benelux) - powers around 765 Belgian webshops (~4%). This suggests a decent niche in Belgium for platforms that cater to omnichannel retail.
Overall, while global solutions lead in Belgium, a mix of mostly European platforms (PrestaShop, Lightspeed) make up the rest, indicating Belgian merchants have a range of mature solutions to choose from.
Bulgaria 🇧🇬
Bulgaria’s e-commerce market comprises around 8,554 - a smaller market where open-source solutions have a strong foothold. WooCommerce is the clear leader, used by roughly 4,625 Bulgarian online stores (over 54% of the total). The second place goes to OpenCart (about 1,507 sites, ~18%), an open-source platform historically popular in Eastern Europe. Shopify, which is second in many other countries, ranks third in Bulgaria with ~1.3k sites (around 15%). This suggests that many Bulgarian merchants favor self-hosted, cost-effective solutions (WooCommerce, OpenCart) over SaaS. PrestaShop is next with a few hundred sites (~304, ~3.5%), followed by Magento (267 sites). Local Bulgarian-specific platforms have a limited presence - for example, CloudCart (a Bulgarian e-commerce platform) appears further down with only a few dozen sites. In summary, Bulgaria’s platform distribution is dominated by WooCommerce and other open-source frameworks, likely due to their flexibility and low cost, while Shopify is present but not as dominant as elsewhere.
Switzerland 🇨🇭
Switzerland is home to about 33,395 online shops. The Swiss e-commerce landscape is led by the same global players, but with a twist. WooCommerce is the most used platform here, powering roughly 12,168 webshops (around 45% of the market). Shopify follows closely with about 9,841 shops (~36% share). Together they account for over 80% of Swiss stores. The remaining ~19% of sites are on a long tail of other solutions.
PrestaShop is the third-ranking platform (about 1.5k sites, ~4-5%), and Magento comes next (~817 sites, ~2%). Shopware, a German-born platform, also has a modest presence (~554 sites) in Switzerland. One of the only notable local players is PepperShop, a Swiss e-commerce software; however, it accounts for only a few hundred stores (roughly 374 identified) - a relatively small 1% share.
In essence, Switzerland’s retailers gravitate strongly toward the big international platforms, and despite having local solutions like PepperShop, these haven’t gained major traction against WooCommerce and Shopify.
Germany 🇩🇪
Germany’s large and mature e-commerce market (with around 133,860 webshops identified) has undergone a significant shift in recent years. Shopify has surged in popularity to become the number one e-commerce platform among German merchants, especially SMEs (cedcommerce.com). Our data shows about 57,000+ German online stores running on Shopify (roughly 42-43% of all German webshops). This marks a major change, as traditionally German-built solutions were dominant. Now, WooCommerce is in second place with about 32,000 sites (~24% share). Combined, these two account for roughly two-thirds of German stores. German-origin platforms still play an important role: Shopware - known for its robust, customizable platform - powers about 9,400 sites (~7%) in Germany. Another local contender is JTL-Shop, which along with Shopware caters to merchants needing advanced inventory and ERP integrations; JTL is used by ~4,000 stores (~3%) (and notably, JTL holds around 12% share in some analyses focused on SMB segment) (cedcommerce.com).
Magento and ePages (a SaaS platform often used by hosting providers in Europe) each are used by roughly 4-7k German stores (around 3-5% share each). Overall, the trend in Germany is clear: Shopify’s user-friendly interface and accessible pricing have propelled it past traditional German platforms (cedcommerce.com). Shopware and others remain relevant for businesses that require more localized support or complex customizations, but the ease of SaaS has won over many German SMEs. It’s also worth noting that custom-built e-commerce solutions (proprietary platforms) still exist in Germany - in fact, we can see that custom solutions account for close to half of e-commerce traffic in Germany - meaning many high-volume retailers use their own systems. By sheer number of sites, however, custom builds are only a small fraction (only ~2% of German stores in our count), as most companies choose established platforms.
Denmark 🇩🇰
Denmark has about 39,460 online stores in total. The Danish market is dominated by the two usual suspects: WooCommerce and Shopify. WooCommerce slightly leads with around 15,447 webshops, about 39% of the market. Shopify is a close second at roughly 14,689 stores (~37%). Combined, they power roughly 76% of Danish e-commerce sites - a very tight race between the open-source and SaaS approach. The remaining quarter of the market includes several platforms, notably a strong local player. Dandomain - a Denmark-based e-commerce platform - accounts for about 2,339 sites, making it the third most popular choice (~6% share). Dandomain’s local roots and integration with Danish hosting services likely contribute to its continued popularity in Denmark.
After that, we see Magento (~1.3k sites, 3%) and PrestaShop (~1.0k sites, ~2.5%) in the rankings. Additionally, Denmark has a few hundred webshops on Optimizely (formerly Episerver, a Swedish enterprise platform) and SmartWeb (a Danish SMB platform), reflecting that some Danish businesses opt for specialized solutions.
In summary, Denmark mirrors the broader trend of WooCommerce and Shopify dominance, with a notable chunk of merchants sticking to a home-grown solution (Dandomain) for its local advantages.
Estonia 🇪🇪
Estonia’s e-commerce scene, while small in absolute numbers (around 9,956 webshops total), is unique in having an extremely dominant #1 platform. WooCommerce is used by about 5,846 Estonian webshops - roughly 68% of the country’s online stores. This gives Estonia the distinction of the highest WooCommerce market share among the countries analyzed.
Shopify is a distant second with only 739 sites in Estonia (~9% share). In third place is a local platform: Voog, an Estonia-based website and commerce platform, which powers about 570 webshops (around 6% of the market). Voog offers native Estonian-language support and caters to small and mid-sized businesses, which explain its solid foothold despite WooCommerce’s dominance.
The remaining ~17% of Estonian stores are split among various other providers (about 1,800 stores in total). Aside from Voog, no other single platform has more than a few hundred sites in Estonia - for example, PrestaShop and OpenCart have a few hundred each, and there’s a long tail including Ecwid, Magento, and others.
In essence, Estonia is a case where one open-source solution (WooCommerce) completely outshines the competition, with local specialized services like Voog carving out a niche alongside it.
Finland 🇫🇮
Finland has roughly 18,632 e-commerce sites in total. Like most Nordic markets, the top two platforms are WooCommerce and Shopify. WooCommerce is used by about 8,126 Finnish webshops (approximately 44% market share). Shopify is the second choice with around 4,835 sites. Combined, these two make up roughly 70% of Finland’s online stores.
The remaining 30% is quite fragmented. Notably, Finland has a higher proportion of custom-built stores than many other countries - about 5% of Finnish webshops are custom solutions (roughly 800+ sites). This reflects Finland’s strong tech culture and businesses opting for bespoke e-commerce solutions tailored to specific needs.
Among packaged platforms, a local contender MyCashFlow stands out as the third most popular in Finland. MyCashFlow powers about 1,327 Finnish webshops (~9% of the market). This platform is Finland-based and has likely gained trust for its local support and features, showing that domestic providers can hold their own niche.
After MyCashFlow and custom builds, other platforms in Finland include PrestaShop (~3% share) and Magento (just over 2%), plus smaller presences of Vilkas, Squarespace/Wix, and others. In summary, Finland’s e-commerce platform distribution is led by global platforms, but with a notable segment of merchants choosing local solutions or fully custom builds to leverage local expertise and meet specific requirements.
Hungary 🇭🇺
Hungary’s online retail market includes about 27,060 webshops. Unlike many Western European countries, Hungary’s top platforms after WooCommerce are local ones. WooCommerce is number one with roughly 12,605 stores (~47% share) - nearly half of all Hungarian e-shops run on WordPress. The second most popular platform is Unas, a Hungary-based e-commerce platform, used by around 4,605 stores (~17%). Close behind is Shoprenter (another Hungarian SaaS e-commerce solution) with about 3,611 stores (~13%). These local platforms have been long-standing options in Hungary, offering Hungarian language support and local integrations (payments, delivery) which likely contribute to their significant uptake.
Shopify comes in fourth place in Hungary with roughly 2,511 stores (~9%), indicating that the global SaaS giant lags behind the domestic services here. Other platforms collectively make up the remaining ~14% of the market - for instance, OpenCart (around 989 sites, ~3.7%), Magento (~578 sites, ~2%), and a variety of smaller solutions including Shopware, PrestaShop, and some Romanian/Central European platforms that show minor presence (e.g. Shoptet, a Czech platform, appears with a few hundred Hungarian shops).
The Hungarian case underlines how local e-commerce providers can capture a large portion of the market by catering to regional needs (language, local logistics), even as global platforms are available.
Iceland 🇮🇸
Iceland’s e-commerce sector is the smallest in this group - we identified roughly 1,712 online stores in Iceland. Interestingly, Shopify absolutely dominates this tiny market. Approximately 1,169 Icelandic webshops run on Shopify, which is about 68% of all online stores in the country. This is one of the highest national market shares for Shopify among the countries examined. WooCommerce is the second most common, with around 507 stores (~30%).
Combined, Shopify and WooCommerce account for an astonishing ~98% of Iceland’s e-commerce sites - essentially a duopoly. This leaves very little room for other platforms: the third-place contender (far behind) is Magento, with only about 16 identified sites (<1%). A handful of stores use OpenCart (a dozen sites) or PrestaShop (just 4 sites).
The overwhelming preference for Shopify in Iceland could be due to the lack of any local e-commerce solution and the appeal of an easy-to-deploy, cloud-based platform for a small market. Additionally, many Icelandic businesses likely cater to international audiences or use English online, making a globally-oriented platform like Shopify a natural choice.
In summary, Iceland’s platform landscape is an outlier: Shopify is nearly synonymous with e-commerce here, with WooCommerce capturing most of the remainder and virtually no other platform having any significant footprint.
Italy 🇮🇹
Italy has an estimated 72,334 active webshops in this analysis. The Italian e-commerce platform distribution skews heavily towards WooCommerce. WooCommerce is used by roughly 39,852 Italian online stores, about 55% of the total. This aligns with WooCommerce’s popularity among small-to-medium businesses in many European countries. Shopify is the second most used platform in Italy, powering about 17,804 stores (~24-25% share). Together, WooCommerce and Shopify make up nearly 80% of Italy’s e-commerce sites.
In third place is PrestaShop, which has a strong user base in Italy (around 6,349 stores, roughly 9% share). PrestaShop’s open-source platform, originally from France.. Beyond the top three, no single platform has more than a single-digit percentage of share. Custom-built solutions account for around 2-3% (we identified ~2,061 custom sites) indicating some companies opt for fully bespoke stores.
Magento, once a leading platform for mid-sized and enterprise merchants, now powers only about 1,938 Italian stores (~2.7%) - showing a decline in relative popularity as easier solutions have gained ground. Other platforms in Italy include smaller counts of OpenCart, Wix (for simpler websites with stores), and local SaaS offerings (though none of the local Italian platforms stand out in the data - the market seems largely served by international or open-source solutions).
In summary, Italy leans strongly on WooCommerce for a majority of shops, with Shopify as a robust second choice and PrestaShop still holding a notable third-place share. This suggests a mix of merchants: many favoring WooCommerce for its low cost and WordPress integration, and a significant group opting for Shopify’s simplicity, while an older guard or specific segment continues with PrestaShop and Magento.
Lithuania 🇱🇹
Lithuania’s e-commerce market, with about 14,604 webshops, also shows a strong preference for WooCommerce. Around 7,983 Lithuanian online stores (about 55%) are built on WooCommerce, making it the dominant platform by far. Shopify is the second most popular, used by roughly 2,734 stores (~19% share). Combined, these two make up roughly 74% of the Lithuanian market, similar to other countries.
However, Lithuania has a more notable third-place presence than some others: PrestaShop powers about 1,706 stores (~12% of the market). In fact, PrestaShop is not far behind Shopify here - 12% vs 18% - showing that PrestaShop remains a viable choice for many Lithuanian merchants.
After PrestaShop, the remaining ~15% of sites are on a mix of platforms. OpenCart is fairly common (around 1,052 stores, ~7%) and there is a long tail of small platforms and custom sites. Notably, two Lithuanian-developed e-commerce platforms, Shopiteka and Verskis, appear in the data - but they rank among the smaller players, together accounting for only a couple hundred stores. For instance, Verskis is used by fewer than 100 sites (only ~96 identified), and Shopiteka similarly under 100. This indicates that, unlike some other Eastern European markets, local Lithuanian solutions haven’t achieved high popularity against the global and open-source options.
Overall, Lithuanian e-commerce is heavily reliant on WooCommerce’s ecosystem, with a significant minority on Shopify and a continued loyal user base on PrestaShop - reflecting perhaps the influence of neighboring Poland/Europe where PrestaShop is stronger, and the needs of merchants who prefer an open-source but more standalone platform than WooCommerce.
Latvia 🇱🇻
Latvia has approximately 6,049 online stores in the database. The platform distribution in Latvia is a bit more balanced at the top than in Lithuania or Estonia, but WooCommerce still leads. Around 1,841 Latvian webshops use WooCommerce, making up about 37% of the market. Shopify is the second most common at about 1,201 stores (~24% share). Together, they account for roughly 61% of Latvian online shops.
The remaining 39% is divided among various other platforms. One notable aspect of Latvia is the significant use of other solutions: OpenCart is the third-largest platform with roughly 713 sites (~12%) based on our data. Following that, a considerable number of sites are custom-built (~471 sites, ~8%), indicating a chunk of merchants opt for tailor-made solutions. PrestaShop comes next with about 333 stores (~5.5%).
Latvia also has its own local website builder/e-commerce tool named Mozello, which appears to power around 270 stores (around 4-5% of the market) - a non-trivial share for a local platform. Mozello offers easy bilingual site creation (useful in Latvia’s multilingual environment), which might explain its uptake.
All other platforms (Magento, Ecwid, etc.) each account for only a few percent or less. The data suggests that while WooCommerce and Shopify are very important in Latvia, a large minority of merchants use a mix of open-source, custom, or regional tools, making it a more diverse platform ecosystem in relative terms (nearly 40% using “other” platforms beyond the big two).
Netherlands 🇳🇱
The Netherlands boasts a highly developed e-commerce market, with about 112,906 webshops counted in this analysis. Dutch online retailers have a clear favourite: WooCommerce. We found roughly 38,316 Dutch webshops using WooCommerce, which is about 46% of all online shops in the Netherlands. This aligns with other findings that WooCommerce has a very strong presence in the Dutch market. Shopify is the second-largest platform with around 21,534 stores (~26% share). Together, WooCommerce and Shopify account for approximately 72% of the market, leaving just over a quarter of sites on other platforms.
The Netherlands has a diverse mix of other e-commerce solutions making up that remaining ~27%. One notable player is Optimizely (formerly Episerver Commerce), an enterprise-level platform - about 7,928 Dutch sites (~7%) use Optimizely. This is a significant share and suggests many mid-to-large Dutch businesses invest in enterprise .NET-based solutions (possibly thanks to a robust ecosystem of agencies for Optimizely in the region).
Magento is also present, with around 6,176 sites (~5.5%). The Dutch market also continues to support Lightspeed (formerly SEOshop in Europe) with roughly 3,820 sites (~3.4%). Lightspeed’s continued use is expected given its local origins and focus on omnichannel retailers (brick-and-mortar stores integrating online). Additionally, a homegrown platform MyOnlineStore (also known as JouwWeb) powers about 3,600 shops (a little over 3%). Other platforms in the Netherlands include PrestaShop, Wix, Shopware, and custom builds, but each of those represents only 2-3% or less.
The key takeaway is that the Dutch e-commerce environment is heavily weighted toward WooCommerce for smaller businesses and content-driven stores, with Shopify catching up for pure-play online merchants, while a substantial segment of more complex or established retailers opt for enterprise or locally tailored solutions like Optimizely and Lightspeed.
Norway 🇳🇴
Norway’s e-commerce market includes around 17,316 webshops. The competition between WooCommerce and Shopify is particularly tight in Norway. WooCommerce is used by roughly 5,346 Norwegian webshops (39% share). Shopify is a very close second with about 4,931 sites (36% share). That’s a gap of only a few hundred sites, or about 3 percentage points, in WooCommerce’s favour. This near parity shows how strongly Shopify has gained traction even in markets traditionally dominated by open-source solutions.
The remaining ~24% of Norwegian webshops (about 3,192 sites) run on various other providers. Norway has a couple of notable local platforms in this “others” category. MyStore, a Norwegian-founded e-commerce platform, is the third most popular choice with about 1,071 sites (~6% share). MyStore’s presence indicates that some Norwegian merchants prefer a domestic solution, possibly for its local language support and integration with Norwegian payment or logistics options. Another Norwegian platform 24Nettbutikk accounts for around 701 sites (~4%), making it the fourth-ranked platform.
After these, the rest is fragmented: Magento has a few hundred sites (~2.7%), and there are many small contributions from others like Wix, WooCommerce’s forked variants, etc. The Norwegian e-commerce platform landscape can be summarized as a neck-and-neck race between the top global two, with local players carving out around 10% of the market combined (not insignificant for a country of Norway’s size). The close competition also suggests that platform choice in Norway might come down to specific business preferences - WooCommerce for content flexibility or existing WordPress usage, versus Shopify for ease of use - rather than clear-cut market leader advantage.
Romania 🇷🇴
Romania’s e-commerce market (approximately 31,892 webshops) shows a strong lead for WooCommerce as well, with some influence of local platforms. WooCommerce is estimated to power about 17,262 Romanian online stores, which is roughly 54% of the total. This is a majority share, indicating WooCommerce’s popularity among Romanian merchants, likely due to its low cost and flexibility in a price-sensitive market. The second most popular platform is Shopify, used by around 5,396 stores (~17%). Shopify’s share in Romania, while significant, is lower than in many Western countries.
The third place goes to PrestaShop with roughly 2,327 stores (~7%). PrestaShop has a community in Romania (the platform’s multilingual support and open source nature align well with local developer communities). Close behind, OpenCart is the fourth most used, powering around 2,179 stores (~6.8%). OpenCart has been historically popular in Eastern Europe for its simplicity.
Importantly, Romania has a couple of homegrown e-commerce solutions that make the top-five list. Gomag, a Romanian e-commerce SaaS platform, is used by about 1,773 stores (~5.6%). Another local platform, MerchantPro (formerly ShopMania BIZ), appears with a few hundred stores (~896 identified, ~3%). These local providers offer Romanian-language interfaces and local payment/shipping integrations, which can attract merchants. While Gomag’s share is notable, it still trails far behind WooCommerce.
The remaining portion of the Romanian market includes Magento (~828 sites, ~2.6%), along with other small players (including some regional ones like OpenCart as mentioned, and possibly osCommerce and Oxid with tiny footprints). The trend in Romania is that WooCommerce overwhelmingly dominates, with Shopify being the main international alternative, but local e-commerce service providers like Gomag have carved out respectable niches by addressing country-specific needs.
Sweden 🇸🇪
Sweden has a robust e-commerce sector with about 38,965 webshops. The Swedish platform distribution looks somewhat similar to Norway’s. WooCommerce holds the lead with roughly 13,293 sites (~39% of Swedish webshops). Shopify is not far behind at about 11,354 sites (around 34% share). The difference between them is only about 5% of the market (~2,000 stores), indicating a close contest in Sweden as well. Combined, these two account for roughly 73% of Swedish online stores.
The remaining 26-27% use other platforms. One noteworthy local platform in Sweden is Quickbutik, which is the third most popular solution with about 2,809 sites (~7.2%). Quickbutik is a Swedish e-commerce platform geared toward small businesses, and its ~7% share shows a significant minority of merchants opt for it, possibly for its simplicity and Swedish-language support. Another local contender is Wikinggruppen (part of Visma), which appears with a few hundred stores (~528 identified, around 1.4%).
Sweden also has a relatively higher incidence of custom-built stores - around 1,151 custom e-commerce sites (~3.0%) were noted, which could include large retailers and boutiques with bespoke solutions. Magento is used by around 932 sites (~2.4%), and PrestaShop by a similar number (~728 sites, ~1.9%). Additionally, Wix and Squarespace (general website builders with commerce capabilities) together account for a few percent (Wix around 480 sites, for instance).
In summary, Sweden’s e-commerce platforms are dominated by the top global two, but a healthy ecosystem of local services like Quickbutik and other specialized platforms thrives in the shadow of those giants. The competition between WooCommerce and Shopify in Sweden is intense - only a 4% market share difference - showing that Swedish merchants are split between the convenience of Shopify and the flexibility of WooCommerce, with neither running away completely with the market.
Slovakia 🇸🇰
Slovakia, with around 17,616 online stores, presents an interesting case where a regional platform plays a major role. WooCommerce is still number one at roughly 7,144 Slovakian webshops (about 41% of the market). However, unlike most countries where Shopify is the automatic second, in Slovakia the second-place platform is Shoptet with about 3,502 webshops (~20-22% share). Shoptet is a Czech-based e-commerce platform very popular in Central Europe, and its strong showing in Slovakia (over a fifth of Slovak webshops) is testament to that regional influence.
Shopify, by contrast, is less prevalent - it actually ranks fourth in Slovakia. The third spot belongs to PrestaShop (~1,309 stores, ~7%) and Shopify comes in fourth with around 1,183 stores (~6.7%).
The remaining ~25% of Slovak stores are split among other providers. After Shopify, OpenCart accounts for roughly 800 stores (~4.5%). There are also a couple of local Slovak/Czech solutions further down: for example, Webareal (~727 stores) and eShop Rýchlo (eShop Rychle) (~529 stores) each have a small share. Upgates, another Czech platform, appears with a few hundred Slovak shops as well. The key insight for Slovakia is that regional integration matters - Shoptet’s platform offers integrations to Central European marketplaces and local services, which has made it more popular than even Shopify for Slovak merchants. This is a reminder that in certain markets, being attuned to local commerce ecosystems (language, marketplaces like Heureka or Alza, local payment gateways) can give a platform a significant edge. WooCommerce still leads thanks to its general appeal and flexibility, but Shoptet’s high adoption shows that merchants will embrace a solution that caters to their regional business needs, even if a global option is available.
Trends and Takeaways
Looking across all these countries, a few clear trends emerge.
1. WooCommerce and Shopify dominate the European e-commerce platform market.
In virtually every country analyzed, these two platforms account for well over half (often around 70% or more) of all online stores. WooCommerce tends to lead in markets with strong DIY or open-source communities, while Shopify often gains in markets where turn-key solutions are in demand. Their combined dominance poses a high barrier to entry for any new platforms - unseating either would require not just converting a few merchants, but a massive migration that seems unlikely unless a radically better value proposition comes along.
2. Local and regional platforms still matter, especially in certain countries.
We see this clearly in places like Hungary (Unas, Shoprenter), Norway (MyStore, 24Nettbutikk), Finland (MyCashFlow), Czechia/Slovakia (Shoptet, Webareal), and Romania (Gomag, MerchantPro). These platforms succeed by catering to local languages, regulations, and business practices, offering features or integrations out-of-the-box that global platforms might not handle as smoothly (for example, integration with local marketplaces, tax rules, or popular domestic payment methods).
While none of these local providers comes close to dethroning the top two in absolute numbers, they often secure a solid third-place position - sometimes even second, as Shoptet does in Slovakia - capturing anywhere from 5% to 25% of their home market. This indicates an industry fit advantage: in specific niches or regions, a tailored solution can beat a one-size-fits-all global platform. For e-commerce leaders, this means it’s important to be aware of and integrated with local platforms when operating in those markets, as they may have a loyal user base.
3. Open-source vs. SaaS dynamics
The data reflects a broader shift from open-source, self-hosted carts (like Magento, PrestaShop, OpenCart) toward SaaS and cloud-hosted solutions (like Shopify, and to an extent local SaaS like Shoprenter or Shoptet).
A decade ago, platforms like Magento and PrestaShop were among the top choices in Europe. Today, Magento powers only a small percentage of stores in these countries (generally 2-5%), and PrestaShop, while still significant in some markets (up to ~12% in Lithuania, ~9% in Italy), is far behind the leaders. This doesn’t mean these platforms are disappearing - indeed, Magento remains a top choice for many high-traffic and complex stores (often enterprise B2C or B2B, where its scalability and customization shine, even if the count of Magento stores is low) (mgt-commerce.commgt-commerce.com).
PrestaShop similarly maintains a strong community among mid-sized merchants who prefer open source. However, the growth seems to be with easier-to-deploy, maintenance-free solutions. Shopify’s growth is evident across Europe, even in traditionally resistant markets like Germany (where it reportedly grew its market share 35% since 2018 to take the lead (cedcommerce.com). WooCommerce, while open-source, benefits from being a plugin to WordPress - thus riding the coattails of the world’s most popular CMS - and remains accessible to non-developers via hosting providers and one-click installs, keeping it competitive in the era of SaaS.
4. Platform capabilities and industry fit
Different platforms tend to appeal to different segments of the market:
WooCommerce is favored by content-driven businesses (who already use WordPress) and smaller merchants who want full control with minimal cost. It’s highly flexible with plugins, but requires more hands-on management. The data shows WooCommerce having especially high shares in countries with strong WordPress usage and developer communities (e.g., Estonia, Italy, Netherlands).
Shopify appeals to merchants who prioritize ease of use, reliable hosting, and a rich app ecosystem without needing technical know-how. Its surge in countries like Germany and Iceland underscores how a user-friendly, all-in-one solution can rapidly gain trust, even in markets that once prized self-hosted solutions (cedcommerce.com). Shopify is also increasingly capable of serving larger merchants (Shopify Plus), which may further grow its share among enterprises.
PrestaShop and OpenCart still appeal to budget-conscious or technically oriented merchants, especially in Eastern and Southern Europe, who want an open-source store but perhaps find Magento too heavy. These platforms are often used for small-to-mid shops that need specific customizations and local hosting. Their share is shrinking in many places, but they remain part of the mix (often in the 5-15% range in various countries).
Magento (Adobe Commerce) has shifted to an enterprise focus. The relatively low count of Magento stores hides the fact that many larger retailers and B2B wholesalers run on Magento for its advanced features and scalability. For example, Magento is estimated to hold about an 18% share of Europe’s e-commerce revenue or enterprise usage (though only a few percent of the count of stores) (mgt-commerce.commgt-commerce.com). It remains strong in specific sectors like fashion and auto parts in Europe, where its robustness and the availability of skilled Magento developers are valued.
Local platforms often differentiate through localized capabilities: e.g., Shoptet’s integration with Central European marketplaces, MyCashFlow’s understanding of Finnish payment systems, or Dandomain’s tie-ins with Danish ERP software. Industry-wise, some local platforms cater to certain industries (for instance, Lightspeed’s strength among restaurants and brick-and-mortar retail with its POS integration). Quickbutik in Sweden markets itself to boutique retailers. These platforms might not scale globally, but they fit the industry and regional needs of their target users extremely well, ensuring their survival amid global competition.
5. Growth trajectories
The overall trend is a consolidation toward a few major platforms (especially Shopify and WooCommerce). Shopify’s aggressive growth is a common thread - it’s growing its share in essentially every market, often at the expense of older local solutions or smaller platforms. WooCommerce also continues to grow in absolute terms (the number of WooCommerce stores is rising), though its market share in some places is plateauing or falling slightly where Shopify gains. Platforms like Magento and PrestaShop, while still gaining new sites, are growing much slower or even declining in share as merchants replatform to easier solutions. Local platforms show mixed trends: some are growing (e.g., Shoptet’s expansion from Czech into Slovakia, or Gomag in Romania attracting sellers moving online), while others may be slowly losing ground if they can’t match the features or marketing of the global competitors. For example, the data for Germany implies platforms like Shopware and JTL, despite being robust, have ceded the #1 spot to Shopify and may need to innovate to maintain relevance.
In conclusion, understanding which e-commerce platforms dominate in each country is valuable for anyone in the e-commerce industry. If you’re a technology or service provider, these insights help in estimating your total addressable market on each platform and prioritizing integrations - for instance, focusing on WooCommerce and Shopify covers ~70% of shops off the bat, but if you target a country like Hungary or Slovakia, you’d miss a large chunk if you ignore local platforms. For e-commerce merchants or investors, knowing the popular platforms can guide you toward the solutions with the strongest local ecosystems (developers, agencies, plug-ins) in a given region.
Despite the pan-European dominance of WooCommerce and Shopify, the diversity of platforms in the remaining share is a reminder that one size does not fit all. Each market has its nuances, and platforms that align with local languages, regulations, cross-border possibilities or industry niches can capture significant share. As the e-commerce sector continues to grow and evolve, keeping an eye on platform popularity and trends in each country can provide a strategic advantage - whether that’s choosing a platform for your next webshop or deciding which markets to expand platform-specific services into. The data confirms a broad trend toward a few leading frameworks, but also highlights where opportunities lie in serving the ecosystems around the myriad of other platforms that together still power tens of thousands of European webshops.
Sources: The platform usage data is derived from a 2025 analysis of hundreds of thousands of European webshops (Tembi Market Intelligence and other sources). Additional context on regional platforms and market shares was taken from industry reports and studies. Each country section above cites specific data sources.
When starting an online store, businesses can either build a custom site from scratch or choose a ready-made e-commerce platform to manage their online sales. Over the years, a variety of commerce platforms have emerged - from large international solutions like Shopify and WooCommerce to smaller local specialists such as Dandomain in Denmark or Voog in Estonia. Choosing the right platform is a crucial decision not only for merchants, but also for the ecosystem of plug-in developers and service providers around these platforms. Not all add-ons work with every framework, so understanding a platform’s market penetration in each region is key to gauging its success and where to invest resources.
In this article, we take a data-driven look at the most widely used e-commerce platforms across selected European countries. The analysis spans 17 markets (Belgium, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden, and Slovakia), covering a total of over 600,000 active webshops (online stores) identified in these countries. The findings confirm that two platforms dominate the landscape: WooCommerce - the open-source plugin for WordPress - and Shopify - the popular SaaS commerce platform. Together, these two power roughly 70-73% of all identified webshops in these markets. WooCommerce alone accounts for about 40% of the stores, making it the preferred solution overall, while Shopify powers around 30% of the stores, having rapidly grown in recent years. This duopoly leaves a long tail of other platforms sharing the remaining ~30% of the market. Nonetheless, those “other” platforms number in the tens of thousands of sites - for instance, over 15,000 webshops use PrestaShop and more than 13,000 use Magento across these countries - indicating significant niches and opportunities still exist beyond the top two.
It’s likely no surprise that Shopify and WooCommerce dominate across Europe’s e-commerce scene. But who are the other key players in each country, and how do platform preferences vary by market? Below, we break down the leading commerce platforms in each country, highlighting local trends, growth patterns, and the fit of certain platforms to regional needs.
Platform Popularity by Country
Belgium 🇧🇪
Belgium has roughly 20,534 active e-commerce sites in total. The Belgian market is notable for being one of the few where Shopify takes the top spot in our analysis. About half of Belgian webshops (estimated 10,233 sites) are built on Shopify. The next most popular framework is WooCommerce with around 5,181 sites (about 25% share). Combined, Shopify and WooCommerce power roughly 75% of Belgium’s online stores. The remaining quarter is split among other platforms.
PrestaShop is the third most common, used by ~1.7k sites (~8%), followed by Magento (~1.1k sites, ~5%). Notably, Lightspeed - a platform known for its integrated point-of-sale and e-commerce (and which acquired a Dutch e-commerce provider - SEOshop - popular in Benelux) - powers around 765 Belgian webshops (~4%). This suggests a decent niche in Belgium for platforms that cater to omnichannel retail.
Overall, while global solutions lead in Belgium, a mix of mostly European platforms (PrestaShop, Lightspeed) make up the rest, indicating Belgian merchants have a range of mature solutions to choose from.
Bulgaria 🇧🇬
Bulgaria’s e-commerce market comprises around 8,554 - a smaller market where open-source solutions have a strong foothold. WooCommerce is the clear leader, used by roughly 4,625 Bulgarian online stores (over 54% of the total). The second place goes to OpenCart (about 1,507 sites, ~18%), an open-source platform historically popular in Eastern Europe. Shopify, which is second in many other countries, ranks third in Bulgaria with ~1.3k sites (around 15%). This suggests that many Bulgarian merchants favor self-hosted, cost-effective solutions (WooCommerce, OpenCart) over SaaS. PrestaShop is next with a few hundred sites (~304, ~3.5%), followed by Magento (267 sites). Local Bulgarian-specific platforms have a limited presence - for example, CloudCart (a Bulgarian e-commerce platform) appears further down with only a few dozen sites. In summary, Bulgaria’s platform distribution is dominated by WooCommerce and other open-source frameworks, likely due to their flexibility and low cost, while Shopify is present but not as dominant as elsewhere.
Switzerland 🇨🇭
Switzerland is home to about 33,395 online shops. The Swiss e-commerce landscape is led by the same global players, but with a twist. WooCommerce is the most used platform here, powering roughly 12,168 webshops (around 45% of the market). Shopify follows closely with about 9,841 shops (~36% share). Together they account for over 80% of Swiss stores. The remaining ~19% of sites are on a long tail of other solutions.
PrestaShop is the third-ranking platform (about 1.5k sites, ~4-5%), and Magento comes next (~817 sites, ~2%). Shopware, a German-born platform, also has a modest presence (~554 sites) in Switzerland. One of the only notable local players is PepperShop, a Swiss e-commerce software; however, it accounts for only a few hundred stores (roughly 374 identified) - a relatively small 1% share.
In essence, Switzerland’s retailers gravitate strongly toward the big international platforms, and despite having local solutions like PepperShop, these haven’t gained major traction against WooCommerce and Shopify.
Germany 🇩🇪
Germany’s large and mature e-commerce market (with around 133,860 webshops identified) has undergone a significant shift in recent years. Shopify has surged in popularity to become the number one e-commerce platform among German merchants, especially SMEs (cedcommerce.com). Our data shows about 57,000+ German online stores running on Shopify (roughly 42-43% of all German webshops). This marks a major change, as traditionally German-built solutions were dominant. Now, WooCommerce is in second place with about 32,000 sites (~24% share). Combined, these two account for roughly two-thirds of German stores. German-origin platforms still play an important role: Shopware - known for its robust, customizable platform - powers about 9,400 sites (~7%) in Germany. Another local contender is JTL-Shop, which along with Shopware caters to merchants needing advanced inventory and ERP integrations; JTL is used by ~4,000 stores (~3%) (and notably, JTL holds around 12% share in some analyses focused on SMB segment) (cedcommerce.com).
Magento and ePages (a SaaS platform often used by hosting providers in Europe) each are used by roughly 4-7k German stores (around 3-5% share each). Overall, the trend in Germany is clear: Shopify’s user-friendly interface and accessible pricing have propelled it past traditional German platforms (cedcommerce.com). Shopware and others remain relevant for businesses that require more localized support or complex customizations, but the ease of SaaS has won over many German SMEs. It’s also worth noting that custom-built e-commerce solutions (proprietary platforms) still exist in Germany - in fact, we can see that custom solutions account for close to half of e-commerce traffic in Germany - meaning many high-volume retailers use their own systems. By sheer number of sites, however, custom builds are only a small fraction (only ~2% of German stores in our count), as most companies choose established platforms.
Denmark 🇩🇰
Denmark has about 39,460 online stores in total. The Danish market is dominated by the two usual suspects: WooCommerce and Shopify. WooCommerce slightly leads with around 15,447 webshops, about 39% of the market. Shopify is a close second at roughly 14,689 stores (~37%). Combined, they power roughly 76% of Danish e-commerce sites - a very tight race between the open-source and SaaS approach. The remaining quarter of the market includes several platforms, notably a strong local player. Dandomain - a Denmark-based e-commerce platform - accounts for about 2,339 sites, making it the third most popular choice (~6% share). Dandomain’s local roots and integration with Danish hosting services likely contribute to its continued popularity in Denmark.
After that, we see Magento (~1.3k sites, 3%) and PrestaShop (~1.0k sites, ~2.5%) in the rankings. Additionally, Denmark has a few hundred webshops on Optimizely (formerly Episerver, a Swedish enterprise platform) and SmartWeb (a Danish SMB platform), reflecting that some Danish businesses opt for specialized solutions.
In summary, Denmark mirrors the broader trend of WooCommerce and Shopify dominance, with a notable chunk of merchants sticking to a home-grown solution (Dandomain) for its local advantages.
Estonia 🇪🇪
Estonia’s e-commerce scene, while small in absolute numbers (around 9,956 webshops total), is unique in having an extremely dominant #1 platform. WooCommerce is used by about 5,846 Estonian webshops - roughly 68% of the country’s online stores. This gives Estonia the distinction of the highest WooCommerce market share among the countries analyzed.
Shopify is a distant second with only 739 sites in Estonia (~9% share). In third place is a local platform: Voog, an Estonia-based website and commerce platform, which powers about 570 webshops (around 6% of the market). Voog offers native Estonian-language support and caters to small and mid-sized businesses, which explain its solid foothold despite WooCommerce’s dominance.
The remaining ~17% of Estonian stores are split among various other providers (about 1,800 stores in total). Aside from Voog, no other single platform has more than a few hundred sites in Estonia - for example, PrestaShop and OpenCart have a few hundred each, and there’s a long tail including Ecwid, Magento, and others.
In essence, Estonia is a case where one open-source solution (WooCommerce) completely outshines the competition, with local specialized services like Voog carving out a niche alongside it.
Finland 🇫🇮
Finland has roughly 18,632 e-commerce sites in total. Like most Nordic markets, the top two platforms are WooCommerce and Shopify. WooCommerce is used by about 8,126 Finnish webshops (approximately 44% market share). Shopify is the second choice with around 4,835 sites. Combined, these two make up roughly 70% of Finland’s online stores.
The remaining 30% is quite fragmented. Notably, Finland has a higher proportion of custom-built stores than many other countries - about 5% of Finnish webshops are custom solutions (roughly 800+ sites). This reflects Finland’s strong tech culture and businesses opting for bespoke e-commerce solutions tailored to specific needs.
Among packaged platforms, a local contender MyCashFlow stands out as the third most popular in Finland. MyCashFlow powers about 1,327 Finnish webshops (~9% of the market). This platform is Finland-based and has likely gained trust for its local support and features, showing that domestic providers can hold their own niche.
After MyCashFlow and custom builds, other platforms in Finland include PrestaShop (~3% share) and Magento (just over 2%), plus smaller presences of Vilkas, Squarespace/Wix, and others. In summary, Finland’s e-commerce platform distribution is led by global platforms, but with a notable segment of merchants choosing local solutions or fully custom builds to leverage local expertise and meet specific requirements.
Hungary 🇭🇺
Hungary’s online retail market includes about 27,060 webshops. Unlike many Western European countries, Hungary’s top platforms after WooCommerce are local ones. WooCommerce is number one with roughly 12,605 stores (~47% share) - nearly half of all Hungarian e-shops run on WordPress. The second most popular platform is Unas, a Hungary-based e-commerce platform, used by around 4,605 stores (~17%). Close behind is Shoprenter (another Hungarian SaaS e-commerce solution) with about 3,611 stores (~13%). These local platforms have been long-standing options in Hungary, offering Hungarian language support and local integrations (payments, delivery) which likely contribute to their significant uptake.
Shopify comes in fourth place in Hungary with roughly 2,511 stores (~9%), indicating that the global SaaS giant lags behind the domestic services here. Other platforms collectively make up the remaining ~14% of the market - for instance, OpenCart (around 989 sites, ~3.7%), Magento (~578 sites, ~2%), and a variety of smaller solutions including Shopware, PrestaShop, and some Romanian/Central European platforms that show minor presence (e.g. Shoptet, a Czech platform, appears with a few hundred Hungarian shops).
The Hungarian case underlines how local e-commerce providers can capture a large portion of the market by catering to regional needs (language, local logistics), even as global platforms are available.
Iceland 🇮🇸
Iceland’s e-commerce sector is the smallest in this group - we identified roughly 1,712 online stores in Iceland. Interestingly, Shopify absolutely dominates this tiny market. Approximately 1,169 Icelandic webshops run on Shopify, which is about 68% of all online stores in the country. This is one of the highest national market shares for Shopify among the countries examined. WooCommerce is the second most common, with around 507 stores (~30%).
Combined, Shopify and WooCommerce account for an astonishing ~98% of Iceland’s e-commerce sites - essentially a duopoly. This leaves very little room for other platforms: the third-place contender (far behind) is Magento, with only about 16 identified sites (<1%). A handful of stores use OpenCart (a dozen sites) or PrestaShop (just 4 sites).
The overwhelming preference for Shopify in Iceland could be due to the lack of any local e-commerce solution and the appeal of an easy-to-deploy, cloud-based platform for a small market. Additionally, many Icelandic businesses likely cater to international audiences or use English online, making a globally-oriented platform like Shopify a natural choice.
In summary, Iceland’s platform landscape is an outlier: Shopify is nearly synonymous with e-commerce here, with WooCommerce capturing most of the remainder and virtually no other platform having any significant footprint.
Italy 🇮🇹
Italy has an estimated 72,334 active webshops in this analysis. The Italian e-commerce platform distribution skews heavily towards WooCommerce. WooCommerce is used by roughly 39,852 Italian online stores, about 55% of the total. This aligns with WooCommerce’s popularity among small-to-medium businesses in many European countries. Shopify is the second most used platform in Italy, powering about 17,804 stores (~24-25% share). Together, WooCommerce and Shopify make up nearly 80% of Italy’s e-commerce sites.
In third place is PrestaShop, which has a strong user base in Italy (around 6,349 stores, roughly 9% share). PrestaShop’s open-source platform, originally from France.. Beyond the top three, no single platform has more than a single-digit percentage of share. Custom-built solutions account for around 2-3% (we identified ~2,061 custom sites) indicating some companies opt for fully bespoke stores.
Magento, once a leading platform for mid-sized and enterprise merchants, now powers only about 1,938 Italian stores (~2.7%) - showing a decline in relative popularity as easier solutions have gained ground. Other platforms in Italy include smaller counts of OpenCart, Wix (for simpler websites with stores), and local SaaS offerings (though none of the local Italian platforms stand out in the data - the market seems largely served by international or open-source solutions).
In summary, Italy leans strongly on WooCommerce for a majority of shops, with Shopify as a robust second choice and PrestaShop still holding a notable third-place share. This suggests a mix of merchants: many favoring WooCommerce for its low cost and WordPress integration, and a significant group opting for Shopify’s simplicity, while an older guard or specific segment continues with PrestaShop and Magento.
Lithuania 🇱🇹
Lithuania’s e-commerce market, with about 14,604 webshops, also shows a strong preference for WooCommerce. Around 7,983 Lithuanian online stores (about 55%) are built on WooCommerce, making it the dominant platform by far. Shopify is the second most popular, used by roughly 2,734 stores (~19% share). Combined, these two make up roughly 74% of the Lithuanian market, similar to other countries.
However, Lithuania has a more notable third-place presence than some others: PrestaShop powers about 1,706 stores (~12% of the market). In fact, PrestaShop is not far behind Shopify here - 12% vs 18% - showing that PrestaShop remains a viable choice for many Lithuanian merchants.
After PrestaShop, the remaining ~15% of sites are on a mix of platforms. OpenCart is fairly common (around 1,052 stores, ~7%) and there is a long tail of small platforms and custom sites. Notably, two Lithuanian-developed e-commerce platforms, Shopiteka and Verskis, appear in the data - but they rank among the smaller players, together accounting for only a couple hundred stores. For instance, Verskis is used by fewer than 100 sites (only ~96 identified), and Shopiteka similarly under 100. This indicates that, unlike some other Eastern European markets, local Lithuanian solutions haven’t achieved high popularity against the global and open-source options.
Overall, Lithuanian e-commerce is heavily reliant on WooCommerce’s ecosystem, with a significant minority on Shopify and a continued loyal user base on PrestaShop - reflecting perhaps the influence of neighboring Poland/Europe where PrestaShop is stronger, and the needs of merchants who prefer an open-source but more standalone platform than WooCommerce.
Latvia 🇱🇻
Latvia has approximately 6,049 online stores in the database. The platform distribution in Latvia is a bit more balanced at the top than in Lithuania or Estonia, but WooCommerce still leads. Around 1,841 Latvian webshops use WooCommerce, making up about 37% of the market. Shopify is the second most common at about 1,201 stores (~24% share). Together, they account for roughly 61% of Latvian online shops.
The remaining 39% is divided among various other platforms. One notable aspect of Latvia is the significant use of other solutions: OpenCart is the third-largest platform with roughly 713 sites (~12%) based on our data. Following that, a considerable number of sites are custom-built (~471 sites, ~8%), indicating a chunk of merchants opt for tailor-made solutions. PrestaShop comes next with about 333 stores (~5.5%).
Latvia also has its own local website builder/e-commerce tool named Mozello, which appears to power around 270 stores (around 4-5% of the market) - a non-trivial share for a local platform. Mozello offers easy bilingual site creation (useful in Latvia’s multilingual environment), which might explain its uptake.
All other platforms (Magento, Ecwid, etc.) each account for only a few percent or less. The data suggests that while WooCommerce and Shopify are very important in Latvia, a large minority of merchants use a mix of open-source, custom, or regional tools, making it a more diverse platform ecosystem in relative terms (nearly 40% using “other” platforms beyond the big two).
Netherlands 🇳🇱
The Netherlands boasts a highly developed e-commerce market, with about 112,906 webshops counted in this analysis. Dutch online retailers have a clear favourite: WooCommerce. We found roughly 38,316 Dutch webshops using WooCommerce, which is about 46% of all online shops in the Netherlands. This aligns with other findings that WooCommerce has a very strong presence in the Dutch market. Shopify is the second-largest platform with around 21,534 stores (~26% share). Together, WooCommerce and Shopify account for approximately 72% of the market, leaving just over a quarter of sites on other platforms.
The Netherlands has a diverse mix of other e-commerce solutions making up that remaining ~27%. One notable player is Optimizely (formerly Episerver Commerce), an enterprise-level platform - about 7,928 Dutch sites (~7%) use Optimizely. This is a significant share and suggests many mid-to-large Dutch businesses invest in enterprise .NET-based solutions (possibly thanks to a robust ecosystem of agencies for Optimizely in the region).
Magento is also present, with around 6,176 sites (~5.5%). The Dutch market also continues to support Lightspeed (formerly SEOshop in Europe) with roughly 3,820 sites (~3.4%). Lightspeed’s continued use is expected given its local origins and focus on omnichannel retailers (brick-and-mortar stores integrating online). Additionally, a homegrown platform MyOnlineStore (also known as JouwWeb) powers about 3,600 shops (a little over 3%). Other platforms in the Netherlands include PrestaShop, Wix, Shopware, and custom builds, but each of those represents only 2-3% or less.
The key takeaway is that the Dutch e-commerce environment is heavily weighted toward WooCommerce for smaller businesses and content-driven stores, with Shopify catching up for pure-play online merchants, while a substantial segment of more complex or established retailers opt for enterprise or locally tailored solutions like Optimizely and Lightspeed.
Norway 🇳🇴
Norway’s e-commerce market includes around 17,316 webshops. The competition between WooCommerce and Shopify is particularly tight in Norway. WooCommerce is used by roughly 5,346 Norwegian webshops (39% share). Shopify is a very close second with about 4,931 sites (36% share). That’s a gap of only a few hundred sites, or about 3 percentage points, in WooCommerce’s favour. This near parity shows how strongly Shopify has gained traction even in markets traditionally dominated by open-source solutions.
The remaining ~24% of Norwegian webshops (about 3,192 sites) run on various other providers. Norway has a couple of notable local platforms in this “others” category. MyStore, a Norwegian-founded e-commerce platform, is the third most popular choice with about 1,071 sites (~6% share). MyStore’s presence indicates that some Norwegian merchants prefer a domestic solution, possibly for its local language support and integration with Norwegian payment or logistics options. Another Norwegian platform 24Nettbutikk accounts for around 701 sites (~4%), making it the fourth-ranked platform.
After these, the rest is fragmented: Magento has a few hundred sites (~2.7%), and there are many small contributions from others like Wix, WooCommerce’s forked variants, etc. The Norwegian e-commerce platform landscape can be summarized as a neck-and-neck race between the top global two, with local players carving out around 10% of the market combined (not insignificant for a country of Norway’s size). The close competition also suggests that platform choice in Norway might come down to specific business preferences - WooCommerce for content flexibility or existing WordPress usage, versus Shopify for ease of use - rather than clear-cut market leader advantage.
Romania 🇷🇴
Romania’s e-commerce market (approximately 31,892 webshops) shows a strong lead for WooCommerce as well, with some influence of local platforms. WooCommerce is estimated to power about 17,262 Romanian online stores, which is roughly 54% of the total. This is a majority share, indicating WooCommerce’s popularity among Romanian merchants, likely due to its low cost and flexibility in a price-sensitive market. The second most popular platform is Shopify, used by around 5,396 stores (~17%). Shopify’s share in Romania, while significant, is lower than in many Western countries.
The third place goes to PrestaShop with roughly 2,327 stores (~7%). PrestaShop has a community in Romania (the platform’s multilingual support and open source nature align well with local developer communities). Close behind, OpenCart is the fourth most used, powering around 2,179 stores (~6.8%). OpenCart has been historically popular in Eastern Europe for its simplicity.
Importantly, Romania has a couple of homegrown e-commerce solutions that make the top-five list. Gomag, a Romanian e-commerce SaaS platform, is used by about 1,773 stores (~5.6%). Another local platform, MerchantPro (formerly ShopMania BIZ), appears with a few hundred stores (~896 identified, ~3%). These local providers offer Romanian-language interfaces and local payment/shipping integrations, which can attract merchants. While Gomag’s share is notable, it still trails far behind WooCommerce.
The remaining portion of the Romanian market includes Magento (~828 sites, ~2.6%), along with other small players (including some regional ones like OpenCart as mentioned, and possibly osCommerce and Oxid with tiny footprints). The trend in Romania is that WooCommerce overwhelmingly dominates, with Shopify being the main international alternative, but local e-commerce service providers like Gomag have carved out respectable niches by addressing country-specific needs.
Sweden 🇸🇪
Sweden has a robust e-commerce sector with about 38,965 webshops. The Swedish platform distribution looks somewhat similar to Norway’s. WooCommerce holds the lead with roughly 13,293 sites (~39% of Swedish webshops). Shopify is not far behind at about 11,354 sites (around 34% share). The difference between them is only about 5% of the market (~2,000 stores), indicating a close contest in Sweden as well. Combined, these two account for roughly 73% of Swedish online stores.
The remaining 26-27% use other platforms. One noteworthy local platform in Sweden is Quickbutik, which is the third most popular solution with about 2,809 sites (~7.2%). Quickbutik is a Swedish e-commerce platform geared toward small businesses, and its ~7% share shows a significant minority of merchants opt for it, possibly for its simplicity and Swedish-language support. Another local contender is Wikinggruppen (part of Visma), which appears with a few hundred stores (~528 identified, around 1.4%).
Sweden also has a relatively higher incidence of custom-built stores - around 1,151 custom e-commerce sites (~3.0%) were noted, which could include large retailers and boutiques with bespoke solutions. Magento is used by around 932 sites (~2.4%), and PrestaShop by a similar number (~728 sites, ~1.9%). Additionally, Wix and Squarespace (general website builders with commerce capabilities) together account for a few percent (Wix around 480 sites, for instance).
In summary, Sweden’s e-commerce platforms are dominated by the top global two, but a healthy ecosystem of local services like Quickbutik and other specialized platforms thrives in the shadow of those giants. The competition between WooCommerce and Shopify in Sweden is intense - only a 4% market share difference - showing that Swedish merchants are split between the convenience of Shopify and the flexibility of WooCommerce, with neither running away completely with the market.
Slovakia 🇸🇰
Slovakia, with around 17,616 online stores, presents an interesting case where a regional platform plays a major role. WooCommerce is still number one at roughly 7,144 Slovakian webshops (about 41% of the market). However, unlike most countries where Shopify is the automatic second, in Slovakia the second-place platform is Shoptet with about 3,502 webshops (~20-22% share). Shoptet is a Czech-based e-commerce platform very popular in Central Europe, and its strong showing in Slovakia (over a fifth of Slovak webshops) is testament to that regional influence.
Shopify, by contrast, is less prevalent - it actually ranks fourth in Slovakia. The third spot belongs to PrestaShop (~1,309 stores, ~7%) and Shopify comes in fourth with around 1,183 stores (~6.7%).
The remaining ~25% of Slovak stores are split among other providers. After Shopify, OpenCart accounts for roughly 800 stores (~4.5%). There are also a couple of local Slovak/Czech solutions further down: for example, Webareal (~727 stores) and eShop Rýchlo (eShop Rychle) (~529 stores) each have a small share. Upgates, another Czech platform, appears with a few hundred Slovak shops as well. The key insight for Slovakia is that regional integration matters - Shoptet’s platform offers integrations to Central European marketplaces and local services, which has made it more popular than even Shopify for Slovak merchants. This is a reminder that in certain markets, being attuned to local commerce ecosystems (language, marketplaces like Heureka or Alza, local payment gateways) can give a platform a significant edge. WooCommerce still leads thanks to its general appeal and flexibility, but Shoptet’s high adoption shows that merchants will embrace a solution that caters to their regional business needs, even if a global option is available.
Trends and Takeaways
Looking across all these countries, a few clear trends emerge.
1. WooCommerce and Shopify dominate the European e-commerce platform market.
In virtually every country analyzed, these two platforms account for well over half (often around 70% or more) of all online stores. WooCommerce tends to lead in markets with strong DIY or open-source communities, while Shopify often gains in markets where turn-key solutions are in demand. Their combined dominance poses a high barrier to entry for any new platforms - unseating either would require not just converting a few merchants, but a massive migration that seems unlikely unless a radically better value proposition comes along.
2. Local and regional platforms still matter, especially in certain countries.
We see this clearly in places like Hungary (Unas, Shoprenter), Norway (MyStore, 24Nettbutikk), Finland (MyCashFlow), Czechia/Slovakia (Shoptet, Webareal), and Romania (Gomag, MerchantPro). These platforms succeed by catering to local languages, regulations, and business practices, offering features or integrations out-of-the-box that global platforms might not handle as smoothly (for example, integration with local marketplaces, tax rules, or popular domestic payment methods).
While none of these local providers comes close to dethroning the top two in absolute numbers, they often secure a solid third-place position - sometimes even second, as Shoptet does in Slovakia - capturing anywhere from 5% to 25% of their home market. This indicates an industry fit advantage: in specific niches or regions, a tailored solution can beat a one-size-fits-all global platform. For e-commerce leaders, this means it’s important to be aware of and integrated with local platforms when operating in those markets, as they may have a loyal user base.
3. Open-source vs. SaaS dynamics
The data reflects a broader shift from open-source, self-hosted carts (like Magento, PrestaShop, OpenCart) toward SaaS and cloud-hosted solutions (like Shopify, and to an extent local SaaS like Shoprenter or Shoptet).
A decade ago, platforms like Magento and PrestaShop were among the top choices in Europe. Today, Magento powers only a small percentage of stores in these countries (generally 2-5%), and PrestaShop, while still significant in some markets (up to ~12% in Lithuania, ~9% in Italy), is far behind the leaders. This doesn’t mean these platforms are disappearing - indeed, Magento remains a top choice for many high-traffic and complex stores (often enterprise B2C or B2B, where its scalability and customization shine, even if the count of Magento stores is low) (mgt-commerce.commgt-commerce.com).
PrestaShop similarly maintains a strong community among mid-sized merchants who prefer open source. However, the growth seems to be with easier-to-deploy, maintenance-free solutions. Shopify’s growth is evident across Europe, even in traditionally resistant markets like Germany (where it reportedly grew its market share 35% since 2018 to take the lead (cedcommerce.com). WooCommerce, while open-source, benefits from being a plugin to WordPress - thus riding the coattails of the world’s most popular CMS - and remains accessible to non-developers via hosting providers and one-click installs, keeping it competitive in the era of SaaS.
4. Platform capabilities and industry fit
Different platforms tend to appeal to different segments of the market:
WooCommerce is favored by content-driven businesses (who already use WordPress) and smaller merchants who want full control with minimal cost. It’s highly flexible with plugins, but requires more hands-on management. The data shows WooCommerce having especially high shares in countries with strong WordPress usage and developer communities (e.g., Estonia, Italy, Netherlands).
Shopify appeals to merchants who prioritize ease of use, reliable hosting, and a rich app ecosystem without needing technical know-how. Its surge in countries like Germany and Iceland underscores how a user-friendly, all-in-one solution can rapidly gain trust, even in markets that once prized self-hosted solutions (cedcommerce.com). Shopify is also increasingly capable of serving larger merchants (Shopify Plus), which may further grow its share among enterprises.
PrestaShop and OpenCart still appeal to budget-conscious or technically oriented merchants, especially in Eastern and Southern Europe, who want an open-source store but perhaps find Magento too heavy. These platforms are often used for small-to-mid shops that need specific customizations and local hosting. Their share is shrinking in many places, but they remain part of the mix (often in the 5-15% range in various countries).
Magento (Adobe Commerce) has shifted to an enterprise focus. The relatively low count of Magento stores hides the fact that many larger retailers and B2B wholesalers run on Magento for its advanced features and scalability. For example, Magento is estimated to hold about an 18% share of Europe’s e-commerce revenue or enterprise usage (though only a few percent of the count of stores) (mgt-commerce.commgt-commerce.com). It remains strong in specific sectors like fashion and auto parts in Europe, where its robustness and the availability of skilled Magento developers are valued.
Local platforms often differentiate through localized capabilities: e.g., Shoptet’s integration with Central European marketplaces, MyCashFlow’s understanding of Finnish payment systems, or Dandomain’s tie-ins with Danish ERP software. Industry-wise, some local platforms cater to certain industries (for instance, Lightspeed’s strength among restaurants and brick-and-mortar retail with its POS integration). Quickbutik in Sweden markets itself to boutique retailers. These platforms might not scale globally, but they fit the industry and regional needs of their target users extremely well, ensuring their survival amid global competition.
5. Growth trajectories
The overall trend is a consolidation toward a few major platforms (especially Shopify and WooCommerce). Shopify’s aggressive growth is a common thread - it’s growing its share in essentially every market, often at the expense of older local solutions or smaller platforms. WooCommerce also continues to grow in absolute terms (the number of WooCommerce stores is rising), though its market share in some places is plateauing or falling slightly where Shopify gains. Platforms like Magento and PrestaShop, while still gaining new sites, are growing much slower or even declining in share as merchants replatform to easier solutions. Local platforms show mixed trends: some are growing (e.g., Shoptet’s expansion from Czech into Slovakia, or Gomag in Romania attracting sellers moving online), while others may be slowly losing ground if they can’t match the features or marketing of the global competitors. For example, the data for Germany implies platforms like Shopware and JTL, despite being robust, have ceded the #1 spot to Shopify and may need to innovate to maintain relevance.
In conclusion, understanding which e-commerce platforms dominate in each country is valuable for anyone in the e-commerce industry. If you’re a technology or service provider, these insights help in estimating your total addressable market on each platform and prioritizing integrations - for instance, focusing on WooCommerce and Shopify covers ~70% of shops off the bat, but if you target a country like Hungary or Slovakia, you’d miss a large chunk if you ignore local platforms. For e-commerce merchants or investors, knowing the popular platforms can guide you toward the solutions with the strongest local ecosystems (developers, agencies, plug-ins) in a given region.
Despite the pan-European dominance of WooCommerce and Shopify, the diversity of platforms in the remaining share is a reminder that one size does not fit all. Each market has its nuances, and platforms that align with local languages, regulations, cross-border possibilities or industry niches can capture significant share. As the e-commerce sector continues to grow and evolve, keeping an eye on platform popularity and trends in each country can provide a strategic advantage - whether that’s choosing a platform for your next webshop or deciding which markets to expand platform-specific services into. The data confirms a broad trend toward a few leading frameworks, but also highlights where opportunities lie in serving the ecosystems around the myriad of other platforms that together still power tens of thousands of European webshops.
Sources: The platform usage data is derived from a 2025 analysis of hundreds of thousands of European webshops (Tembi Market Intelligence and other sources). Additional context on regional platforms and market shares was taken from industry reports and studies. Each country section above cites specific data sources.
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PROVADA Conference 2025, Amsterdam 17-19 of June.
At Tembi we've analysed data from 200,000+ companies in the Netherlands to predict where demand is heading. Discover how AI helps you identify new tenants, locations, and growth areas - before the competition. By collecting company and financial data, and combining it with location data, we visualise how different areas in cities develop, giving you the insights you need to better understand the sourraoundings of a buidling.
Across Europe, the last-mile delivery landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by consumer preferences, sustainability pressures, and regulatory changes. Recent data from delivery providers, postal services, and consumer surveys across 13 European countries - Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania - reveals distinct regional patterns in how online purchases reach consumers.
A recent analysis from our e-commerce database, based on data from over 140,000 webshops across these countries, provides deeper insights into how extensively online retailers offer different delivery methods.
How many webshops offer (in %) different delivery methods. Data from Tembi.
Nordic markets lead with out-of-home delivery
Nordic countries have strongly adopted out-of-home (OOH) delivery methods, including parcel shops and lockers. Sweden traditionally favours parcel shops, with Tembi’s data showing 36.1% of Swedish webshops offering this method. Denmark stands out with parcel shop deliveries offered by 57.6% of webshops, reflecting extensive and convenient networks.
Finland is a leader in parcel locker adoption - 34.1% of Finnish webshops offer locker delivery, supported by a widespread network of accessible 24/7 lockers. Norway balances between home (52.1% of webshops) and parcel shop deliveries (33%), with locker installations growing at 9%, indicating increasing preference for flexible, automated solutions.
Parcel lockers thrive in the Baltics
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania showcase exceptional acceptance of parcel lockers. In Estonia, a remarkable 71.8% of webshops offer parcel lockers, validating Estonia’s leadership in locker infrastructure. Lithuania and Latvia follow closely, with 66.4% and 54.7% respectively offering parcel lockers, strongly supporting consumer preferences for convenience and reduced environmental impact.
Mixed preferences in Western Europe
In Western Europe, the Netherlands strongly prefers collect-yourself options, with Tembi data showing 76.4% of Dutch webshops offer this method. Home delivery remains prevalent, offered by 27.5% of retailers, aligning with the Dutch consumer's primary preference for doorstep delivery but complemented significantly by collect-yourself options.
Italy, traditionally a home-delivery market, now shows a strong adoption of collect-yourself options, offered by 64.9% of Italian webshops. Out-of-home delivery is now Italy's second most popular delivery option after home delivery, driven by convenience and reliability.
Rising OOH and workplace delivery in Central and Eastern Europe
Eastern European markets like Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria traditionally favoured home delivery but now rapidly integrate OOH options. Slovakia prominently features home delivery (76.9%) but also offers parcel shops through 42.9% of webshops, echoing the region's evolving preferences.
Hungary continues to favour home delivery significantly (82.6%), but parcel lockers have rapidly expanded, with about 37.7% of webshops offering this method. Romania, while strongly home-delivery oriented (83.9%), sees parcel lockers emerging as supplementary (21.2%).
Bulgaria uniquely highlights workplace delivery, offered by 36.2% of online retailers, underscoring its importance in urban logistics. This method provides practical advantages in urban areas where home deliveries may face reliability challenges.
Regulatory push towards sustainable delivery
Belgium recently mandated online retailers offer at least two delivery options at checkout, including one eco-friendly alternative such as parcel shops or lockers. Effective from 2024, this regulation aims to reduce failed deliveries, lower emissions, and encourage sustainable consumer choices (bpost, 2024). This legislative move sets a precedent that other European countries might soon follow.
Sustainability and infrastructure implications
Parcel lockers and out-of-home delivery significantly reduce last-mile delivery emissions, potentially cutting CO₂ by approximately 30% compared to home delivery, especially when consumers collect parcels using sustainable transport methods (McKinsey, 2024). Dense networks of lockers and collection points, common in Estonia, Finland, and the Netherlands, enhance urban delivery efficiency, reduce traffic congestion, and improve consumer satisfaction.
Future outlook
European last-mile delivery is undeniably trending towards flexible, sustainable methods that reflect varied regional consumer behaviours. As OOH options mature and consumer awareness grows, home delivery will increasingly coexist with alternative methods. Carriers and retailers who proactively adapt will lead in delivering not just parcels, but also consumer satisfaction and sustainability.
Across Europe, the last-mile delivery landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by consumer preferences, sustainability pressures, and regulatory changes. Recent data from delivery providers, postal services, and consumer surveys across 13 European countries - Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania - reveals distinct regional patterns in how online purchases reach consumers.
A recent analysis from our e-commerce database, based on data from over 140,000 webshops across these countries, provides deeper insights into how extensively online retailers offer different delivery methods.
How many webshops offer (in %) different delivery methods. Data from Tembi.
Nordic markets lead with out-of-home delivery
Nordic countries have strongly adopted out-of-home (OOH) delivery methods, including parcel shops and lockers. Sweden traditionally favours parcel shops, with Tembi’s data showing 36.1% of Swedish webshops offering this method. Denmark stands out with parcel shop deliveries offered by 57.6% of webshops, reflecting extensive and convenient networks.
Finland is a leader in parcel locker adoption - 34.1% of Finnish webshops offer locker delivery, supported by a widespread network of accessible 24/7 lockers. Norway balances between home (52.1% of webshops) and parcel shop deliveries (33%), with locker installations growing at 9%, indicating increasing preference for flexible, automated solutions.
Parcel lockers thrive in the Baltics
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania showcase exceptional acceptance of parcel lockers. In Estonia, a remarkable 71.8% of webshops offer parcel lockers, validating Estonia’s leadership in locker infrastructure. Lithuania and Latvia follow closely, with 66.4% and 54.7% respectively offering parcel lockers, strongly supporting consumer preferences for convenience and reduced environmental impact.
Mixed preferences in Western Europe
In Western Europe, the Netherlands strongly prefers collect-yourself options, with Tembi data showing 76.4% of Dutch webshops offer this method. Home delivery remains prevalent, offered by 27.5% of retailers, aligning with the Dutch consumer's primary preference for doorstep delivery but complemented significantly by collect-yourself options.
Italy, traditionally a home-delivery market, now shows a strong adoption of collect-yourself options, offered by 64.9% of Italian webshops. Out-of-home delivery is now Italy's second most popular delivery option after home delivery, driven by convenience and reliability.
Rising OOH and workplace delivery in Central and Eastern Europe
Eastern European markets like Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria traditionally favoured home delivery but now rapidly integrate OOH options. Slovakia prominently features home delivery (76.9%) but also offers parcel shops through 42.9% of webshops, echoing the region's evolving preferences.
Hungary continues to favour home delivery significantly (82.6%), but parcel lockers have rapidly expanded, with about 37.7% of webshops offering this method. Romania, while strongly home-delivery oriented (83.9%), sees parcel lockers emerging as supplementary (21.2%).
Bulgaria uniquely highlights workplace delivery, offered by 36.2% of online retailers, underscoring its importance in urban logistics. This method provides practical advantages in urban areas where home deliveries may face reliability challenges.
Regulatory push towards sustainable delivery
Belgium recently mandated online retailers offer at least two delivery options at checkout, including one eco-friendly alternative such as parcel shops or lockers. Effective from 2024, this regulation aims to reduce failed deliveries, lower emissions, and encourage sustainable consumer choices (bpost, 2024). This legislative move sets a precedent that other European countries might soon follow.
Sustainability and infrastructure implications
Parcel lockers and out-of-home delivery significantly reduce last-mile delivery emissions, potentially cutting CO₂ by approximately 30% compared to home delivery, especially when consumers collect parcels using sustainable transport methods (McKinsey, 2024). Dense networks of lockers and collection points, common in Estonia, Finland, and the Netherlands, enhance urban delivery efficiency, reduce traffic congestion, and improve consumer satisfaction.
Future outlook
European last-mile delivery is undeniably trending towards flexible, sustainable methods that reflect varied regional consumer behaviours. As OOH options mature and consumer awareness grows, home delivery will increasingly coexist with alternative methods. Carriers and retailers who proactively adapt will lead in delivering not just parcels, but also consumer satisfaction and sustainability.
European online payments are shaped by a mix of global platforms and strong local preferences. Below we break down the key payment providers across eight countries – Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Norway, and Sweden – highlighting who’s active in each market, how they fare in B2B vs B2C, and domestic vs cross-border trends. We also discuss how platform-native solutions (like Shopify Payments and PayPal integrations) enable cross-market reach.
The analysis is based on 208.035 webshops monitored by Tembi with data from the 21st of May 2025.
Belgium - 18.237 active webshops Switzerland - 30.007 Denmark - 32.370 Finland - 15.912 Italy - 63.672 Norway - 15.032 Sweden - 32.805
Belgium - Bancontact’s home turf, with PayPal for cross-border
Belgian e-commerce is dominated by Bancontact, the national debit scheme, which remains by far the favourite online payment method – about 73% of Belgian shoppers prefer Bancontact and 70% use it most often (retaildetail.eu). Credit cards, once top, now take a secondary role mainly for higher-value purchases (pay.com.)
Key Providers and Roles:
Bancontact – Ubiquitous in Belgium. Linked to virtually all Belgian banks, it has more cards in circulation than there are Belgian residents (pay.com). Merchants rely on Bancontact for its wide user base and low fraud (transactions are irrevocable once confirmed, reducing chargebacks (pay.com). It’s essentially mandatory for domestic webshops to support Bancontact.
PayPal – While not a domestic method, PayPal is integrated into many Belgian shops (our dataset shows it on a similar number of sites as Bancontact). Its strength is in cross-border shopping: 72% of Belgians have used PayPal to buy from foreign retailers (pay.com), leveraging its buyer protection and global acceptance. PayPal thus complements Bancontact by enabling international B2C sales.
Local Banking Apps – Major banks offer their own payment buttons (e.g. Belfius Pay), though these see modest adoption compared to Bancontact (e.g. Belfius appears on a few thousand sites). They cater to customers of those banks for bank-transfer payments.
Global Wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay) – Gaining presence as smartphone usage grows. Apple Pay is supported by many Belgian banks, tapping into the country’s large iPhone user base (pay.com.. These wallets remain convenience add-ons rather than primary methods, but their acceptance in Belgian webshops (thousands of sites) signals a growing cross-platform trend.
International PSPs (Stripe, Mollie) – Providers like Stripe and Dutch-based Mollie are used by Belgian merchants (Mollie has ~4,500 Belgian sites in our data). They enable credit cards and alternative methods easily, including Bancontact itself via their integration. This is especially useful for smaller B2B merchants expanding online, as PSPs handle multi-method support in one package.
Domestic vs international adoption Domestically, a Belgian online shopper expects to see Bancontact at checkout – it’s a trust signal and caters to local payment habits. International e-commerce players entering Belgium must integrate Bancontact (often via Shopify Payments or Adyen) to localise their offering (retaildetail.eu). Conversely, Belgian merchants aiming cross-border include methods like PayPal and credit cards to accommodate foreign customers who can’t use Bancontact. Thus, Belgian sites serving neighboring markets often support both local and global methods. This dual approach (Bancontact + an international wallet) is common in Belgium’s e-commerce, ensuring both local and cross-border sales are covered.
Switzerland - Twint charging up
Switzerland’s payment mix is unusually diverse. Traditionally, bank transfers and invoices have been extremely popular – as of 2023, bank transfers (including pay-by-invoice) were projected to account for ~46% of Swiss e-commerce transactions (pay.com) Cards are also widely used (52% of online transactions, mostly credit cards in online contexts (pay.com). But the biggest shake-up has come from Twint, the Swiss mobile payments app. In recent years Twint has surged to become the dominant online payment method: it’s now accepted in roughly 4 out of 5 Swiss online shops (twint.ch) and counts over 5 million active users in a country of ~8.7 million (pay.com).
Key Providers and Roles:
TWINT – A home-grown mobile wallet linked to users’ bank accounts. Launched in 2016 by major Swiss banks, Twint has achieved 98% brand awareness and massive uptake (fintechnews.ch). It’s used for instant bank-direct payments via app (often by scanning a QR code). By 2022, about 74% of Swiss online merchants supported Twint (fintechnews.ch), and that share is still rising (Twint itself boasts ~80% online shop coverage (twint.ch). For domestic B2C, Twint’s appeal is convenience and local trust – it effectively modernized the traditional bank transfer for the mobile era.
Credit & Debit Cards – Swiss consumers use cards frequently, especially credit cards for online shopping (an estimated 80% of Swiss prefer credit over debit for e-commerce)pay.com. Visa and Mastercard dominate (around 64% and 17% market share respectively in cards)pay.com, with PostFinance (the postal bank’s debit card) filling much of the remainder domestically. PostFinance’s payment option (e-finance or card) is offered by many Swiss shops (our data shows it on ~5,700 sites) to cater to the large customer base of the national postal bank. Cards are important for both B2C and B2B (corporate cards, etc.), though Swiss B2B buyers sometimes still prefer invoice.
Bank Transfers & Invoicing – A significant share of Swiss e-commerce is essentially “pay after delivery.” Many Swiss shoppers choose to receive an invoice (often with a QR-bill) and pay it via their e-banking – this shows up in stats as bank transfer payments. Even online, merchants often offer “purchase on account.” Providers like Klarna have entered Switzerland to offer pay-later, but the concept was already ingrained. Sofort (Klarna’s direct bank transfer service) also appears in Swiss webshops (in ~12k of them per our data) as a popular option for real-time bank payments, used especially for cross-border transactions with Germany.
PayPal – PayPal enjoys steady use in Switzerland, but it’s not as dominant as in some other countries. It’s present on most international-facing Swiss shops and is popular for cross-border purchases or niche uses. Swiss consumers do use PayPal domestically, but with Twint and cards readily available, PayPal’s role is more as a universal fallback. Still, our scan found PayPal on ~22,600 Swiss sites – the single most common payment brand on Swiss shops – underscoring its broad presence even if volume share is smaller.
Local Banking Options – Apart from Twint, Swiss merchants may support one-click bank payment through services like eBill or direct debit for B2B, but these are less visible. Revolut’s new checkout option has also cropped up (around 4k sites) as Switzerland has many Revolut users; this is mainly to serve tech-savvy shoppers and cross-border customers with Revolut accounts.
Domestic vs international The Swiss market is small but high-spending, and cross-border e-commerce is significant (many Swiss buy from German, French, or global sites). Domestic shops therefore try to offer a mix of local and international methods. For instance, a Swiss webshop will almost certainly offer Twint and PostFinance for locals, but also Visa/Mastercard and PayPal to appeal to everyone (including cross-border shoppers or expatriates). International retailers entering Switzerland often integrate Twint now – given its reach, not having Twint could alienate a big chunk of local customers. At the same time, Swiss consumers use credit cards and PayPal especially when shopping on foreign sites, since those universally work. This dynamic means successful cross-border sellers into Switzerland either enable local methods via a PSP (Adyen, etc.) or rely on the Swiss buyer falling back to a credit card or PayPal. In summary, Swiss e-commerce shows a dual nature: traditional methods (bank transfer/invoice) remain very strong at home (pay.com), but mobile and global solutions are rapidly overlaying to facilitate seamless buying both domestically and across borders.
Denmark - Home of MobilePay
Denmark is a card-centric country with a twist – nearly every Dane has a Dankort (the national debit card, typically co-branded with Visa), so card payments have long been the norm. In 2024, about 37% of Danish online consumers cited paying by card as their primary method (ecommercenews.eu). Close on its heels, however, is MobilePay, used by roughly 33% of online shoppers as their preferred option (ecommercenews.eu). MobilePay, a mobile wallet linked to card or bank accounts, has become nearly ubiquitous (over 90% of Danes have the app, and virtually all younger adults do (statista.com)). PayPal and other methods exist but are less prominent – a few years ago PayPal accounted for ~13% of Danish online payments (oosga.com), and it remains a common option particularly for cross-border purchases. Overall, Denmark’s landscape mixes global card infrastructure with highly adopted local fintech solutions.
Key Providers and Roles:
Dankort / Card Payments – Debit/credit cards are still the #1 online payment method in Denmark by usage (ecommercenews.eu). The Danish Dankort (often used via Visa rails online) ensures almost anyone with a bank account can pay by card. Merchants benefit from well-established card processing and Danes’ comfort with cards for larger or recurring purchases. International cards (Visa, Mastercard) are widely accepted, which also covers foreign shoppers. For B2B e-commerce, cards (corporate cards) are common too.
MobilePay – Denmark’s signature mobile wallet app. MobilePay allows one-click or app-confirmation payments drawing funds from the user’s card or bank. It’s deeply ingrained in daily life; in e-commerce it’s become the convenient alternative to entering card details. With 33%+ share of online payments and growing (ecommercenews.eu), MobilePay is almost expected on Danish sites – from small boutiques to large retailers. For merchants, offering MobilePay can boost checkout conversion on mobile devices. Notably, MobilePay is popular in B2C contexts (fast checkout for consumers), while in B2B it’s used less (business buyers typically use cards or invoices).
PayPal – Widely available, though not top-of-mind for Danes domestically. Many Danish webshops include PayPal, especially those on platforms like WooCommerce/Shopify where it’s an easy plug-in. It serves mainly as a way to accept payments from international customers or cater to Danes who already have PayPal accounts. While only about 13% of Danish e-commerce shoppers used PayPal as of 2021 (oosga.com), it remains a useful cross-border channel – for example, Danes buying from eBay or foreign sites often use PayPal.
Local PSPs (Payment Service Providers) – Denmark has a robust set of payment gateways that serve merchants. QuickPay and OnPay are examples of Danish PSPs that many webshops use behind the scenes. These providers bundle various methods (cards, MobilePay, Viabill, etc.) and are particularly important for SMEs and B2B shops, as they handle the integrations and local acquiring. In our data, QuickPay appears on ~4,800 sites, indicating its strong presence. Such PSPs typically don’t matter to the consumer (who just sees the payment options they provide), but they are key enablers of the local payment ecosystem.
Buy Now, Pay Later and Others – Danes have access to BNPL options like ViaBill or Klarna, but uptake is more moderate compared to Sweden or Norway. Klarna is integrated in some Danish shops (~6,600 sites in our scan) targeting installment payments for consumers. However, Danish shoppers, being comfortable with cards, haven’t embraced BNPL to the same extent as Swedes. For B2B, offering payment on invoice is common (especially when selling to government or large companies, who use EAN invoicing), though that’s handled outside the online checkout or via invoicing services rather than through visible providers in checkout.
Domestic vs International Adoption Danish online retailers focus on domestic preferences first – supporting Dankort/Visa and MobilePay to cover the vast majority of local transactions. Cross-border, Denmark has a high rate of consumers buying from abroad (over half shop abroad monthly (ecommercenews.eu), so Danish merchants also consider methods that international shoppers use. This means accepting foreign Visa/Mastercards (no problem via standard acquiring) and often keeping PayPal available. International merchants selling into Denmark are wise to enable MobilePay – increasingly, payment platforms (like Stripe or Adyen or Shopify Payments) let them do so easily. We see that cross-border giants (Amazon, etc.) have started to include MobilePay for Danish customers. In summary, domestic Danish e-commerce is characterised by card and MobilePay dominance, whereas cross-border commerce relies more on international card networks and PayPal – but the gap is closing as local methods become accessible to foreign merchants too.
Finland: Paytrail dominates
Finnish online shoppers have a strong preference for direct bank payments. Rather than using individual bank buttons, Finland streamlined this through Paytrail, an aggregator that connects all major Finnish banks. As a result, online bank transfer solutions like Paytrail are the top choice for Finns (aboutpayments.com). According to industry info, Finnish consumers most prefer paying via their internet banking through services such as Paytrail or Trustly (aboutpayments.com). Cards are of course used as well, but historically Finland has seen lower credit card usage online than many other European countries. Instead, debit cards via bank transfer and recently mobile wallets are prominent. MobilePay (imported from Denmark) has also gained traction in Finland – it’s available and used by many, though not yet as dominant as in Denmark. Klarna is popular in Finland too (Finland was an early Klarna expansion market), and invoice payments are fairly common for certain purchases. In summary, Finland’s payment scene is a mix of bank-centric methods and a few select international options.
Key Providers and Roles:
Paytrail – Arguably the backbone of Finnish e-commerce payments. Paytrail (now part of the Nets/Nexi group) offers merchants a single contract to accept all Finnish online banking payments, cards, as well as local wallets and invoices (nexigroup.com). It is the most used online payment service in Finland’s e-commerce (mastercard.com), which aligns with our data where Paytrail appears very frequently (over 6,500 Finnish sites). For consumers, Paytrail provides a seamless interface to pay from any Finnish bank account, which is highly trusted and convenient. In practice, when a Finnish shopper chooses “online bank payment,” it’s often Paytrail processing it in the background. This method is equally relevant for B2C and B2B – businesses also appreciate paying directly from bank accounts.
Trustly – Another bank transfer option, used in Finland and across the Nordics. Trustly allows instant bank payments without leaving the merchant’s site. Finnish shoppers do use Trustly, but since Paytrail already covers domestic banks, Trustly’s role is more for cross-border scenarios (e.g. paying from a Finnish bank on a foreign site). Still, it’s noted as a top method after Paytrai (aboutpayments.com). Some Finnish merchants include Trustly in addition to Paytrail to capture every preference.
Cards (Visa/MasterCard) – International debit/credit cards are widely accepted and come next in popularity after bank transfers for Finns (aboutpayments.com). Finland historically had a strong culture of paying by bank rather than credit, but card usage is rising. Most Finnish cards are debit or dual-function cards, and many are used via Paytrail’s interface or via a PSP like Nets/Paytrail itself. For the merchant, accepting cards is essential for cross-border customers and for those Finnish buyers who prefer a familiar Visa/Mastercard flow or need to use a credit line.
Klarna – Finland is one of Klarna’s significant markets. Klarna’s pay-later and installment options are offered by a lot of Finnish online stores (our data shows Klarna on ~6,200 Finnish sites, nearly equal to MobilePay’s presence). Finnish consumers use Klarna mainly for splitting payments or buying on invoice, similar to Sweden but perhaps slightly less intensively. It’s a popular option for B2C retail (fashion, electronics – where try-before-you-buy or installment plans appeal). For merchants, Klarna brings potential conversion gains and is often included alongside traditional methods. In B2B sales, Klarna is not commonly used – Finnish businesses would use direct invoicing if they want post-payment.
MobilePay – Finland adopted MobilePay after Denmark (Danske Bank introduced it). Today, MobilePay is a commonly used wallet in Finland (aboutpayments.com), though its usage (by share of transactions) isn’t as high as in Denmark. Still, many Finnish shops (over 6,200 in our analysis) offer MobilePay at checkout. It’s popular for its ease on mobile devices and is used predominantly in B2C contexts (e.g. a consumer buying event tickets or clothes may opt for MobilePay instead of typing card details). With MobilePay’s merger with Vipps/Swish underway, Finns may see even more features, but already the app is a key part of the payments mix.
Other Local Pay-Later (Walley, etc.) – Finland has some specialized providers like Walley (formerly Collector Bank’s solution). Walley offers invoice and installment payments, including B2B invoicing solutions. It appears in Finnish e-commerce (about 1,800 sites in our data) as an option to “Pay by invoice 14 days” or similar, often under the Walley brand in checkout. This indicates a demand especially in B2B and larger consumer purchases for invoice-based payment. Similarly, Svea (a Swedish company but active in Finland) provides B2B financing and appears on some sites. These are important for B2B e-commerce or high-value consumer sales (furniture, machinery, etc.), where customers expect to be billed or finance the purchase rather than pay upfront.
Domestic vs International Finnish e-commerce is quite domestic-focused in method – a Finnish shopper expects to pay through their bank or an invoice. International merchants expanding to Finland often partner with Paytrail or a similar PSP to offer localized bank payments, because without those, they’d miss a large portion of sales. The prevalence of English-speaking Finns means many do shop on international sites, where they might then use a credit card or PayPal if Finnish bank options aren’t available. Indeed, PayPal is accepted on many Finnish sites (though not top-five in preference, it’s present on ~8,300 Finnish webshops per our data), functioning as a catch-all for cross-border transactions (e.g. paying a non-Finnish merchant). Adoption trends show that methods like Paytrail keep domestic transactions flowing in local currency and language, whereas global platforms like PayPal or card networks come into play for cross-border. Additionally, Finland being in the Eurozone makes cross-border shopping easier (no currency swap issues), so credit cards are slightly more used for EU-wide shopping. Finnish merchants, to expand abroad, will lean on PSPs that support international cards, PayPal, and possibly multi-currency – many use Stripe (found on ~4,200 Finnish sites) or Adyen for that reason. In sum, Finland has a strong local backbone (bank payments) that any entrant must integrate, and a willingness to layer global methods on top for broader reach.
Italy: PayPal’s Stronghold
Local Payment Landscape: Italy stands out for the prominence of PayPal in e-commerce. Italians have historically been cautious about online payments, leading them to gravitate towards PayPal for its perceived safety and buyer protection. Recent surveys show about 63% of Italian online consumers used PayPal in the past month, and 39% prefer PayPal over any other method – making it the #1 choice by far (rapyd.net). Credit and debit cards are of course used (especially with the widespread CartaSi/VISA and MasterCard), but only ~11% of Italians picked credit cards as their first choice, according to the same study (rapyd.net). Interestingly, a uniquely Italian method, the PostePay prepaid card (issued by the postal service), ranks high – about 12% choose it as their top payment method (rapyd.net). PostePay is essentially a reloadable Visa/Mastercard, and its popularity reflects Italians’ preference for controlled, cash-loaded spending. Cash on delivery (contrassegno) still lingers as an option in Italy for some categories, though its share is decreasing as digital payments grow. Overall, Italy’s online payment mix is a blend of global wallets, card networks (often through domestic brands like CartaSi or PostePay), and some remaining traditional methods.
Key Providers and Roles:
PayPal – The undisputed leader in Italian e-commerce payments. PayPal’s ubiquity is evident: it is integrated into the vast majority of Italian webshops (our dataset found it on ~56,000 sites, far more than any other provider in Italy). Its strengths – buyer protection, ease of use, and not requiring the buyer to expose card details – resonated strongly with Italian consumers who had security concerns. Many Italians also keep balances in PayPal or link it to bank accounts, using it almost like a bank alternative. For merchants, offering PayPal is almost a must for B2C, as not having it could mean losing a huge chunk of potential customers. Even in P2B (consumer-to-business) scenarios like freelance services or marketplace sales, PayPal is common. In B2B, PayPal is less used for large transactions, but small business services sometimes get paid via PayPal too. Notably, Italian merchants rely on PayPal not just domestically but to sell internationally – it’s a ready-made cross-border solution that handles multiple currencies and languages, which helped many Italian small businesses to reach global customers.
Credit/Debit Cards (CartaSi, Visa, Mastercard) – Card payments in Italy have grown but still face competition from PayPal and cash. Most online card usage is via Visa or Mastercard-branded cards, often issued as CartaSi (the domestic scheme, now Nexi) or as bank cards. Also, PostePay cards (Visa Electron/prepaid) are massively used by younger and unbanked consumers for online shopping. This means that while “card” as a category is significant, many Italians use them through intermediaries (like linking a PostePay to PayPal, or using the card via an Apple Pay wallet). For merchants, enabling card payments is standard – usually through PSPs like Nexi, Gestpay, Stripe, or international acquirers. However, due to high PayPal use, sometimes cards are effectively the secondary option on many sites. In B2B e-commerce, corporate credit cards are used for convenience (especially for SMEs buying software, travel, etc.), but larger purchases often go through bank transfer invoices.
Apple Pay / Google Pay – These mobile wallet options are present but not yet top of mind for Italian consumers. Apple Pay in particular is offered by many Italian banks and supported at many online checkouts (our data saw Apple Pay on ~15,000 Italian sites, which is significant). Still, surveys suggest Apple Pay and Google Pay are among the least preferred methods in Italy (rapyd.net). Their significance lies in convenience for the subset of users who have them set up – they streamline card use on mobile. As more Italians use their phones for shopping, these methods might grow. For now, they act as nice-to-have options in B2C (and essentially not used in B2B).
Local Banking and Cash Solutions – Italy has had some online banking payment attempts like MyBank (an EU-wide bank transfer system that was adopted by Italian banks) and the traditional bonifico (bank wire) for e-commerce. MyBank allows instant bank debits for online purchases, and some merchants do offer it. It hasn’t reached the ubiquity of Netherlands’ iDEAL, but it caters to those who prefer direct bank payment without cards. Cash on Delivery, while not a “payment provider,” is historically important in Italy – a portion of shoppers still choose to pay the courier in cash or card upon delivery. This method is declining year by year but remains in certain sectors (e.g. furniture, older demographics). Many merchants outsource the COD handling to logistics or just mark it as an option with a fee. It’s more relevant in B2C; B2B rarely uses COD (they’d just invoice).
Stripe, Braintree and PSPs – International PSPs like Stripe are quite popular among Italian online businesses (Stripe is the second-most common integration after PayPal in our Italy data, found on ~19,000 sites). These platforms let merchants accept cards, wallets, and even local methods through one gateway. Braintree (owned by PayPal) similarly powers many Italian webshops behind the scenes, enabling both card processing and PayPal integration. Local acquirers like Nexi (CartaSi) and UniCredit’s solutions also have a big merchant base, especially for larger retailers. In effect, PSPs ensure that Italian merchants can accept the mix of payment forms consumers expect. They are crucial in both B2C and B2B (for example, a B2B software SaaS might use Stripe to bill Italian companies via credit card or Sofort, etc.). Some newer options like Revolut Pay have also entered Italy – indeed, our scan saw Revolut on ~14k sites (likely merchants adding the Revolut Pay button to cater to Revolut users). These are still niche but indicate a willingness of merchants to experiment beyond the traditional set.
Domestic vs International Italian merchants historically catered to domestic buyers’ preferences (hence a heavy emphasis on PayPal). Now, with cross-border e-commerce growing (two-thirds of Italian shoppers have bought from international sites (rapyd.net)), Italian merchants are expanding their payment options. Many are adding methods like Amazon Pay (since Italians shop on Amazon’s platforms), or enabling multi-currency credit card processing to attract foreign customers. Likewise, foreign companies selling to Italy have learned that including PayPal at checkout is crucial – a UK or German site that adds PayPal might suddenly convert many more Italian buyers who trust PayPal over entering card details. We see platform-native solutions smoothing this process: for example, Shopify Payments allows a foreign merchant to offer Italian shoppers local payment options (like bonifico via Sofort or appropriate localized card forms) without that merchant needing an Italian banking relationship. Additionally, services like Klarna have recently launched in Italy as well, aiming to introduce more pay-later options; their usage is nascent but growing for cross-border purchases (e.g. an Italian buying from a German shop might use Klarna). In summary, Italy’s e-commerce shows a stark local preference for PayPal and familiar tools, and both domestic and international sellers adjust to that reality – often by prominently featuring PayPal, offering prepaid-friendly options, and maintaining trust signals. The reliance on platform solutions (PayPal, Amazon Pay, etc.) also lowers the friction of cross-border commerce for Italian consumers, effectively bridging domestic habits with international retail.
Norway: Vipps and Klarna
Norway’s consumers are highly digital and spend a lot online. Card payments are extremely common – in fact, Norway has one of the highest per-capita card usage rates. Cards (debit and credit combined) account for roughly 43% of all retail transactions (online and offline) in Norway (pay.com). The majority of these are through BankAxept, Norway’s domestic debit card system, which is co-branded with Visa/Mastercard for international acceptance (pay.com). Alongside cards, Norway has a very strong mobile payments culture thanks to Vipps, a mobile wallet app used by most Norwegians. Vipps has cornered the digital wallet market in Norway (pay.com), meaning alternatives like Apple Pay or Google Pay are secondary (though available). Klarna and other pay-later options are also popular – Norway, like other Nordics, embraced Klarna early for splitting or delaying payments. PayPal exists but plays a smaller role in day-to-day domestic payments (around 7% share of online transactions as per Norges Bank (pay.com)), used mainly for cross-border shopping. In summary, Norway’s landscape features high card usage with a layer of mobile wallet convenience and BNPL flexibility.
Key Providers and Roles:
BankAxept (Card payments) – BankAxept is the domestic debit network, ensuring that payments using Norwegian bank cards are processed cheaply and efficiently inside Norway. Practically every Norwegian has a BankAxept card. Online, when a customer pays by “card,” it often routes through BankAxept if domestic, or via Visa/MasterCard rails if needed. For merchants, accepting cards is non-negotiable – it covers debit and credit usage. Credit card usage is growing in Norway (almost one credit card per person in circulation (pay.com), and many online purchases – especially higher value or travel bookings – go on credit cards. In B2B, cards can be used for convenience too, but many companies also use invoices. Nonetheless, cards form the backbone of Norwegian e-commerce payments, making up a large chunk of transactions by value.
Vipps – Norway’s ubiquitous mobile payment app. Vipps allows users to pay online by confirming with their mobile number/app, similar to how one would use a wallet instead of entering card details. Virtually everyone in Norway knows and many use Vipps; it started as a peer-to-peer app but is now available for online checkouts, bill payments, etc. Vipps dominates Norwegian mobile payments, effectively sidelining other e-wallets domestically (pay.com). For online merchants, adding Vipps (via a PSP or Vipps API) can significantly smooth mobile conversion – a user can just choose Vipps and approve the purchase on their phone. Our data shows Vipps present on about 6,700 Norwegian sites, which implies a strong uptake (though not as high as MobilePay in DK, possibly because many international platforms were slower to integrate Vipps). In B2C, Vipps is extremely important, especially among younger shoppers and for quick purchases. In B2B, it’s less used (business purchases would more likely go via bank or invoice), but some small entrepreneurs might even accept Vipps for simplicity.
Klarna – Norway is one of Klarna’s significant markets outside Sweden. Klarna’s BNPL and invoicing services are widely offered by Norwegian merchants. Notably, Klarna is reported to account for about 18% of domestic online retail sales in Norway (pay.com), which is substantial. Many Norwegian shoppers enjoy the option to “buy now, pay later” or split payments, and Klarna provides that with its usual smooth user experience. Norwegian merchants, especially in fashion, electronics, and other retail segments, integrate Klarna to boost sales and AOV (average order value). In our dataset, Klarna actually appeared as the top payment-related provider on Norwegian sites (~8,700 sites), even above PayPal, indicating how common it is. For B2C, Klarna is a key player. For B2B, Klarna has a business offering (Klarna for business/Tillit – a local BNPL startup mentioned) but these are less prevalent; businesses typically aren’t using Klarna to pay invoices. Still, the concept of paying after receiving goods is also present in B2B via invoices – just not via Klarna’s interface.
PayPal – While not a leader domestically, PayPal has a steady presence in Norway. According to the central bank, it’s about 7% of online transaction volume (pay.com), which is modest, but it remains crucial for cross-border purchases. Norwegians shopping from international websites (where Vipps or Klarna might not be available) often rely on PayPal as a convenient and trusted method (pay.com). Likewise, Norwegian online sellers include PayPal to capture international sales or niche use cases. Our data found PayPal on ~8,300 Norwegian sites, nearly as many as Klarna. This suggests that even if Norwegians themselves don’t prioritize PayPal when domestic options exist, it’s still widely offered as a universal option. In B2B, PayPal usage would be rare except perhaps freelancers or software services.
Other Methods/PSPs – Norway’s market sees involvement from Nordic PSPs like Nets (now part of Nexi, historically handled a lot of card processing), as well as Stripe (our data: ~6,000 sites, showing many Norwegian businesses use Stripe to accept cards and other methods). Swish (the Swedish mobile pay) is not used in Norway, but interestingly, MobilePay (from Denmark) was merged with Vipps – yet in our data MobilePay appears on ~3,600 Norwegian sites. This could indicate cross-border Danish merchants or some early adoption in Norway; however, post-merger Vipps will cover that. Another mention is “Klarna’s Kustom Checkout” (seen as “Kustom” on ~1,300 sites) – this appears to be a one-stop checkout solution possibly by Klarna to integrate multiple methods. It’s relatively small but shows innovation in unified checkout experiences. For B2B, beyond standard invoice, some specialized services like Aprila or Svea might offer trade financing, but they didn’t prominently show up in top 10. Vipps does have a business-facing product (Vipps Faktura) to send invoices via Vipps app – highlighting again how consumer tools in Norway often extend into business use.
Domestic vs International Norway’s e-commerce players pay attention to both local preferences and the fact that Norway is outside the EU (which affects cross-border trade, VAT, etc.). Domestically, a Norwegian merchant will emphasize Vipps and Klarna alongside cards to maximize conversions – these are what local shoppers expect. Internationally, Norwegian merchants know that foreign customers won’t have Vipps, so they ensure card payments (Visa/Mastercard) and PayPal are available. Many also support Klarna’s global offering in other markets (since Klarna operates across Europe and even the US, a Norwegian merchant can offer pay-later to customers in those countries via Klarna). Moreover, with high English proficiency, Norwegians frequently shop abroad; when they do, they typically use cards or PayPal – indeed PayPal’s main utility in Norway is for cross-border purchases (pay.com). This behavior influences Norwegian e-commerce sites too: for example, the prevalence of PayPal on Norwegian sites is partly to reassure and facilitate sales to non-Norwegians (and to Norwegians who might prefer it in certain situations). Another interesting point is that as part of the Vipps-MobilePay merger, Nordic payment integration is improving – soon a Danish customer might pay a Norwegian shop with MobilePay and it seamlessly works with Vipps (and vice versa). This will strengthen cross-Nordic commerce by leveraging each country’s local wallet. In summary, Norway shows a pattern seen in the Nordics: very high local adoption of innovative payments, and a parallel support of global methods to engage in cross-border commerce.
Sweden: The land of Klarna and Swish
Sweden’s online payment landscape has two giants: Klarna and Swish. It’s often said that “everyone in Sweden uses Swish,” and that’s barely an exaggeration – about 98% of Swedish adults have Swish installed and ~95% use it regularly (ergomania.eu). Swish is a mobile payment system (bank account-linked) originally for P2P but now widely used in e-commerce and even brick-and-mortar. On the other hand, Klarna’s pay-later services (invoice, installment, etc.) account for a huge portion of Swedish e-commerce – over 50% of online transactions by value are open invoice payments (adyen.com) - many of those facilitated by Klarna and a handful of competitors. Credit/debit cards remain popular too (especially for some online services and travel), but Sweden stands out in that invoices/payment after delivery are the single largest category, surpassing cards (adyen.com). This is rooted in consumer behavior: Swedes historically liked to receive goods and pay by invoice, a practice that fintechs like Klarna turned into a smooth digital experience. Meanwhile, Swish’s instant bank transfers are siphoning off transactions that might have been card or cash. PayPal exists and is used in Sweden, but given the strong local options, it’s not a leading method for domestic shopping. Overall, Sweden is extremely advanced: high smartphone usage, multiple fintech solutions, and consumers comfortable with alternative payments.
Key Providers and Roles:
Klarna – The poster child of Swedish fintech, Klarna is omnipresent in Swedish e-commerce. It started with “Få först, betala sen” (get first, pay later) invoice payments and now offers everything from 30-day invoicing to installment plans and a smooth one-click checkout (Klarna Checkout) that many Swedish sites use as their entire payment frontend. Klarna claims a large share of the market – indeed open invoice methods (dominated by Klarna) exceed half of ecom transactions (adyen.com). In our data, Klarna was on ~22,300 Swedish sites, more than any other provider, which underlines its reach. For consumers, Klarna’s appeal is the flexibility and trust (you can return items before paying, etc.). For merchants, offering Klarna can increase sales, but it comes with fees – still, in Sweden it’s expected. Klarna also now includes card payments and even bank direct payments in its checkout, so some merchants use Klarna Checkout as a one-stop solution (which might also explain why cards are less separately visible). In B2C, Klarna is king. In B2B, while Klarna has business solutions, Swedish companies often rely on traditional invoicing (sometimes using competitors like Svea or just direct billing) for trade credit. Klarna’s brand is primarily consumer-focused in Sweden.
Swish – A mobile payment app backed by Sweden’s banks. Swish lets users instantly transfer money using just a phone number. It’s extremely popular for splitting bills, paying small merchants, and increasingly, paying online. Now, Swish is the most frequently used payment service in Swedish online shops and apps (snb.ch) by number of transactions. By 2024, more Swedes named Swish as their leading online payment brand over Klarna, which it overtook in popularity a few years ago (statista.com). For e-commerce, merchants display a Swish option; if chosen, the shopper approves the payment in the Swish app (which debits their bank). It’s effectively like a real-time bank transfer with mobile convenience. Swish is used for both B2C and informal B2B (e.g. small business or sole trader payments). For larger B2B, not so much, as companies prefer invoicing and not all have Swish for business set up. But Swish does have a business product and even charities, clubs etc. use Swish for payments. With 8+ million users (in a country of 10 million (ergomania.eu), any e-commerce catering to Sweden almost needs to accept Swish now.
Cards (Visa/Mastercard) – Despite the dominance of Klarna and Swish, cards still account for a significant chunk (around one-third of Swedish online payments by some estimates (ppro.com). Many Swedes have credit cards (often incentivized by loyalty programs) and still use them especially on sites that don’t offer Klarna or Swish (or for services like subscriptions, streaming, etc.). Swedish-issued cards are often co-badged with BankAxept-like debit or just are international Visas/Mastercards. Merchants usually accept cards via PSPs or via Klarna’s infrastructure. The interesting dynamic is that because Klarna Checkout can handle card payments, a shopper might enter card details on a Klarna form – from the user perspective they might not even realize the payment is by traditional card because Klarna or Swish overshadow it. In B2B, corporate cards might be used for things like travel bookings or online services (Swedish businesses have high card adoption for expenses). So cards remain an important method for both consumers and businesses, even if less celebrated.
Svea, Walley, and other BNPL/Invoice providers – Sweden has several other players in the invoice/payment plan space: Svea Ekonomi, Walley (Collector), Avarda, AfterPay (Riverty), etc. Adyen’s guide noted 5–6 providers offering invoices in Sweden (adyen.com). Klarna is the largest, but these others carve out niches (for example, Svea might power payments for some smaller retailers or specific sectors). Our data saw Svea on ~2,980 Swedish sites – notable though much smaller than Klarna’s footprint. These services often target both B2C and B2B (Svea and Walley have business credit solutions). For a merchant, choosing one of these can be about better fees or industry-specific offerings. The proliferation of invoice providers underscores how ingrained buy-now-pay-later is in Swedish commerce – there’s competition to grant consumers that convenience of paying after delivery.
PayPal and global wallets – PayPal is available in Sweden and quite a few Swedes have accounts, but its usage is limited compared to local solutions. It tends to be used for cross-border transactions (e.g. buying on international sites) or on marketplaces. Many Swedish merchants still offer PayPal – our data found it on ~18,600 sites – often as a “why not” addition for the few customers who prefer it or for foreign customers. Apple Pay and Google Pay are also supported by Swedish banks/cards and sometimes listed on checkouts (Apple Pay was on ~9,100 Swedish sites per our data). They haven’t achieved the same usage as Swish, but they do provide a fast checkout option especially for mobile and for users with international backgrounds. They’re more of a complement; for instance, a tech-savvy shopper might use Apple Pay on an iPhone instead of Swish if they find it quicker.
Domestic vs International: Swedish e-commerce players are very outward-looking (Swedes buy from international sites and Swedish sites sell abroad, especially to the EU). For domestic sales, not offering Klarna or Swish is almost unthinkable for a mainstream merchant – you’d lose too many sales. For cross-border, Swedish merchants rely on those platform capabilities: Klarna is expanding in many markets, so a Swedish merchant can offer Klarna in, say, Germany or the UK to attract foreign customers similarly. Swish, however, is domestic; a non-Swedish customer cannot use Swish, so Swedish merchants must also have card payments and PayPal to cover foreigners. This they generally do – either via a PSP or via Klarna Checkout (which by default shows local Swedish options but can fall back to card for others). International merchants entering Sweden often partner with Klarna to quickly gain local credibility. It’s common for foreign brands launching Swedish sites to heavily feature Klarna and Swish logos – it signals to Swedish shoppers that “you can trust and pay easily here”. Additionally, Sweden’s high trust in fintech means new entrants can get traction – e.g. Stripe is used by many startups in Sweden and can process Swish via plugins, so newcomers can offer Swish with minimal effort. Platform-native solutions like Shopify Payments also support local methods in Sweden (Shopify merchants can enable Klarna and Swish through integrations), which lowers the barrier for smaller foreign merchants to sell to Swedes. A noteworthy cross-border trend is the Nordics integration: with Vipps, MobilePay, and Swish collaborating, a merchant in one Nordic country might soon accept a wallet payment from a neighboring country’s app seamlessly. This will further blur domestic vs international in the Nordic region’s payments. All told, Sweden’s market is characterized by extremely strong local preferences (Swish, invoicing) that any successful player must adapt to, and a parallel accommodation of global methods for complete coverage. Swedish consumers will happily use a local method if available, but if shopping on a foreign site, they might use a card or PayPal – however, their expectation now is that more and more foreign sites will cater to them with Swedish methods.
Platform-native integrations and cross-market presence
One recurring theme across all these countries is the role of platform-native payment integrations – especially on popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce – in streamlining cross-border payment acceptance. Two prime examples are Shopify Payments (with its local method support) and PayPal’s ubiquitous plugins.
Shopify Payments (and Shop Pay) Shopify Payments is the built-in payment gateway for Shopify merchants, powered behind the scenes by providers like Stripe/Adyen. Crucially, it automatically enables relevant local payment methods based on the shopper’s region. For instance, a Shopify merchant in the US can easily accept Bancontact and iDEAL when selling to Belgium or the Netherlands – they simply toggle those on, no custom integration needed (help.shopify.com). Shopify Payments supports Bancontact, iDEAL, Sofort, EPS, Klarna, etc., depending on the market (help.shopify.com), meaning merchants on Shopify can localize their checkout experience at the flick of a switch. This has huge implications: it lowers the barrier for cross-market expansion since even small merchants can offer country-specific popular methods without in-depth knowledge. Additionally, Shop Pay, Shopify’s accelerated checkout, is available globally – it stores customer details for one-click payments across any Shopify store. Shop Pay itself isn’t a separate payment method funded by a bank or card, but it streamlines card payments and now even installments (Shop Pay Installments by Affirm in some countries). Its presence (noted in our data across countries, e.g. ~6–13k sites in each country had “Shop Pay” enabled) underscores the impact of platform features. Shop Pay improves conversion and thus indirectly encourages merchants to sell globally, knowing returning customers can pay faster. In essence, platform-native solutions like Shopify Payments abstract away complexity: a single integration gives a merchant Apple Pay, Google Pay, local methods and credit cards in one – very powerful for cross-border commerce.
WooCommerce & PayPal/Stripe integrations WooCommerce (the popular WordPress e-commerce plugin) relies on third-party payment gateways. PayPal and Stripe are two that have become nearly universal on WooCommerce sites globally. Because they are easy to install and free to use (no monthly fee, just transaction fees), many WooCommerce-based shops simply offer PayPal and Stripe out-of-the-box. This means an English WooCommerce site, a German one, or a Danish one – all likely have a similar PayPal checkout option (and Stripe powering card payments). Our analysis of PayPal’s presence found that a significant percentage of Shopify and WooCommerce stores across these countries have PayPal enabled – often 50% or more (e.g. ~72% in Italy, ~47% in Sweden, ~40% in Finland, ~62% in Belgium) based on the data of PayPal usage on those platform stores. This prevalence is no accident: PayPal comes built-in with Shopify and as a default plugin with WooCommerce, so many merchants leave it on as a convenient global method. The result is a kind of cross-market ubiquity – no matter if you’re shopping on a boutique in Oslo or a gadget store in Milan, you’re likely to see the PayPal button. That consistency gives consumers a familiar fallback and gives merchants confidence they can serve international customers (who might prefer PayPal if they’re unfamiliar with the local method on that site). Stripe’s integration on WooCommerce similarly allows merchants worldwide to accept not just cards but Apple Pay, Google Pay, and even local methods (if configured) like iDEAL or Klarna through Stripe. So, platform ecosystems have made a set of payment methods effectively universal across markets.
Cross-Border Influence of Key Players Certain providers emerge as bridges across countries. PayPal is the obvious one – present virtually everywhere, it’s the default cross-border wallet. Stripe/Adyen as PSPs power many local methods but are invisible to consumers; their influence is in enabling merchants to support the right mix in each market. Klarna has grown from a Swedish BNPL to a global brand now active in all the discussed countries – a German shopper, a Norwegian, an Italian can all use Klarna, making it a cross-border payment option in its own right. Apple Pay and Google Pay – while not top of any country’s list except perhaps on tech-centric sites – provide a unified experience for a segment of users across borders (a tech-savvy Swiss or Italian might choose Apple Pay in lieu of typing card details, for example). Mollie and Nets/Nexi (regional PSPs) are extending beyond their home (Mollie from NL into Belgium, France, etc., Nets from Nordics into DACH), contributing to cross-pollination of methods.
In summary, platform-native integrations and globally-oriented providers smooth out the differences between markets. They ensure that a merchant doesn’t have to integrate Bancontact, iDEAL, Klarna, Swish separately with different contracts – instead, one integration (be it Shopify Payments, PayPal, Stripe, etc.) covers it. This has led to a situation where key payment methods achieve strong cross-border presence despite being local in nature: for example, Bancontact can be accepted by a German Shopify store selling to Belgium, and iDEAL appears on UK websites via PayPal’s Braintree or Adyen. Likewise, a Dutch merchant can easily offer Klarna to German customers through a single PSP. The significance is huge for market entry and expansion: a merchant can enter a new European market and immediately offer the familiar local payment options through their existing platform, rather than needing to sign deals with local banks. This greatly lowers friction in European e-commerce, effectively enabling the regional patterns we’ve discussed to coexist with global e-commerce flows.
Conclusion: Regional patterns, cross-border champions, and the power of local preferences
Analysing these seven countries side by side reveals clear regional patterns and instructive differences:
Local dominance vs global universals Each country has one or two dominant local payment methods – Bancontact in Belgium, Twint in Switzerland, MobilePay in Denmark, Paytrail (bank transfers) in Finland, PayPal (local favourite) in Italy, Vipps (and cards) in Norway, Klarna/Swish in Sweden. These methods stem from local banking systems or consumer habits and command loyalty in their home markets. At the same time, global methods like credit cards and PayPal are present “just about everywhere” (retaildetail.eu) as the common denominators. Cards are accepted in all countries (even if not always first choice), and PayPal’s familiar checkout is offered broadly to capture cross-border shoppers. This duality means successful merchants typically combine the local must-haves with a baseline of global options.
North vs south vs central There’s a north-south divide of sorts. The Nordics (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland) are heavy on mobile wallets and pay-later solutions: MobilePay/Vipps/Swish and Klarna/Svea are household names there, reflecting a tech-forward consumer base and trust in digital finance. Central-West Europe (Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland) leans on bank-based payments: Bancontact, iDEAL, Twint, Sofort – these are all bank-account-direct methods, indicating the strength of bank networks and a preference for direct debit-style payments. Southern Europe (Italy) has been more cautious historically, thus PayPal (a “foreign” but trust-building method) and cash/prepaid solutions took hold. Understanding these cultural and historical contexts is key – one size does not fit all in Europe. A Nordics-focused merchant will prioritise mobile wallets and Klarna, whereas a Benelux-focused one must integrate local bank payments or risk losing most customers.
Cross-border influencers – key players Some payment providers have clearly managed to extend their influence across multiple countries: Klarna (originating in Sweden) is now a major player in Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium, etc., showing that a popular concept can travel – especially BNPL in regions with similar consumer credit cultures. PayPal remains a pan-European staple for cross-border commerce – even where it’s not #1 locally, it’s the safety net for transactions that cross languages or currencies. Stripe and Adyen (though behind the scenes) power a lot of this by enabling local method acceptance to non-local merchants – they are the unsung heroes making, for example, a French website feel native to a Dutch customer by offering iDEAL. Mollie has grown beyond the Netherlands into Belgium and even across Europe, thanks to its easy integration – it’s becoming a regional champion for SME payments. Meanwhile, regional collaborations (like the Vipps-MobilePay merger and its partnership with Swish) hint at the future: key local methods might interoperate across borders, effectively becoming multi-country methods. If that succeeds, a Nordic wallet could rival card schemes in cross-border utility within that region.
Platform power – shaping market entry The prevalence of Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and other platforms in online retail has greatly shaped how payments are adopted. These platforms have baked-in support for the dominant providers, which means merchants expanding to a new country often have the tools at their fingertips to accept the local payments. For example, a Canadian brand using Shopify entering the Dutch market can enable iDEAL and Bancontact via Shopify Payments in minutes – something that would have been a project on its own a decade ago. This reduces the friction of market expansion; payment localization is no longer a barrier reserved for enterprise retailers with local contracts, but available to SMBs. It also means that certain payment methods achieve widespread adoption simply by being defaults on platforms – PayPal’s presence on WooCommerce is a clear case. In effect, the e-commerce platforms act as conduits for spreading payment innovations across borders. If tomorrow a new payment method becomes huge in one country, chances are platform providers or PSPs will integrate it and thereby propagate it across thousands of merchants in multiple countries (much like Apple Pay rolled out or Klarna became a checkout option globally).
Consumer behaviour and trust Underpinning all of this, local consumer behaviour and trust patterns dictate what gets used. In Belgium and Netherlands, trust in one’s bank and domestic systems is high – hence bank-based methods flourish. In Italy, wariness about fraud led to a trust in PayPal and cash – only now gradually shifting toward more modern solutions as trust improves. Nordics have high trust both in technology and in credit, enabling things like Swish and Klarna to thrive. These patterns highlight that any payment provider trying to enter a new European market must contend with deeply ingrained habits. Often, partnering or integrating with existing local systems (as Mastercard did by co-badging Bancontact, or as Klarna did by offering localised invoice terms) is more successful than trying to impose a wholly new behaviour.
To conclude, European e-commerce payments are a mix of local traditions and global tech. Merchants aiming for success across these markets need to literally “speak the language” of payments in each country – be it offering installment invoices in Sweden, MobilePay in Denmark, or Bancontact in Belgium – while also providing cross-border staples like cards and PayPal to ensure no customer is left out. The good news is that modern payment platforms and providers have made this mapping far easier. The direction is clear: meet customers’ local expectations at checkout, and they will buy confidently, whether they’re next door or across the continent. By recognizing the strengths and focus of each payment provider (from Twint’s local sovereignty in Switzerland to PayPal’s cross-border indispensability), businesses can craft a payment strategy that feels native in every market they serve, B2C and B2B alike. This localized approach, backed by data and smart integrations, is increasingly what defines competitive advantage in Europe’s vibrant online payments landscape.
European online payments are shaped by a mix of global platforms and strong local preferences. Below we break down the key payment providers across eight countries – Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Norway, and Sweden – highlighting who’s active in each market, how they fare in B2B vs B2C, and domestic vs cross-border trends. We also discuss how platform-native solutions (like Shopify Payments and PayPal integrations) enable cross-market reach.
The analysis is based on 208.035 webshops monitored by Tembi with data from the 21st of May 2025.
Belgium - 18.237 active webshops Switzerland - 30.007 Denmark - 32.370 Finland - 15.912 Italy - 63.672 Norway - 15.032 Sweden - 32.805
Belgium - Bancontact’s home turf, with PayPal for cross-border
Belgian e-commerce is dominated by Bancontact, the national debit scheme, which remains by far the favourite online payment method – about 73% of Belgian shoppers prefer Bancontact and 70% use it most often (retaildetail.eu). Credit cards, once top, now take a secondary role mainly for higher-value purchases (pay.com.)
Key Providers and Roles:
Bancontact – Ubiquitous in Belgium. Linked to virtually all Belgian banks, it has more cards in circulation than there are Belgian residents (pay.com). Merchants rely on Bancontact for its wide user base and low fraud (transactions are irrevocable once confirmed, reducing chargebacks (pay.com). It’s essentially mandatory for domestic webshops to support Bancontact.
PayPal – While not a domestic method, PayPal is integrated into many Belgian shops (our dataset shows it on a similar number of sites as Bancontact). Its strength is in cross-border shopping: 72% of Belgians have used PayPal to buy from foreign retailers (pay.com), leveraging its buyer protection and global acceptance. PayPal thus complements Bancontact by enabling international B2C sales.
Local Banking Apps – Major banks offer their own payment buttons (e.g. Belfius Pay), though these see modest adoption compared to Bancontact (e.g. Belfius appears on a few thousand sites). They cater to customers of those banks for bank-transfer payments.
Global Wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay) – Gaining presence as smartphone usage grows. Apple Pay is supported by many Belgian banks, tapping into the country’s large iPhone user base (pay.com.. These wallets remain convenience add-ons rather than primary methods, but their acceptance in Belgian webshops (thousands of sites) signals a growing cross-platform trend.
International PSPs (Stripe, Mollie) – Providers like Stripe and Dutch-based Mollie are used by Belgian merchants (Mollie has ~4,500 Belgian sites in our data). They enable credit cards and alternative methods easily, including Bancontact itself via their integration. This is especially useful for smaller B2B merchants expanding online, as PSPs handle multi-method support in one package.
Domestic vs international adoption Domestically, a Belgian online shopper expects to see Bancontact at checkout – it’s a trust signal and caters to local payment habits. International e-commerce players entering Belgium must integrate Bancontact (often via Shopify Payments or Adyen) to localise their offering (retaildetail.eu). Conversely, Belgian merchants aiming cross-border include methods like PayPal and credit cards to accommodate foreign customers who can’t use Bancontact. Thus, Belgian sites serving neighboring markets often support both local and global methods. This dual approach (Bancontact + an international wallet) is common in Belgium’s e-commerce, ensuring both local and cross-border sales are covered.
Switzerland - Twint charging up
Switzerland’s payment mix is unusually diverse. Traditionally, bank transfers and invoices have been extremely popular – as of 2023, bank transfers (including pay-by-invoice) were projected to account for ~46% of Swiss e-commerce transactions (pay.com) Cards are also widely used (52% of online transactions, mostly credit cards in online contexts (pay.com). But the biggest shake-up has come from Twint, the Swiss mobile payments app. In recent years Twint has surged to become the dominant online payment method: it’s now accepted in roughly 4 out of 5 Swiss online shops (twint.ch) and counts over 5 million active users in a country of ~8.7 million (pay.com).
Key Providers and Roles:
TWINT – A home-grown mobile wallet linked to users’ bank accounts. Launched in 2016 by major Swiss banks, Twint has achieved 98% brand awareness and massive uptake (fintechnews.ch). It’s used for instant bank-direct payments via app (often by scanning a QR code). By 2022, about 74% of Swiss online merchants supported Twint (fintechnews.ch), and that share is still rising (Twint itself boasts ~80% online shop coverage (twint.ch). For domestic B2C, Twint’s appeal is convenience and local trust – it effectively modernized the traditional bank transfer for the mobile era.
Credit & Debit Cards – Swiss consumers use cards frequently, especially credit cards for online shopping (an estimated 80% of Swiss prefer credit over debit for e-commerce)pay.com. Visa and Mastercard dominate (around 64% and 17% market share respectively in cards)pay.com, with PostFinance (the postal bank’s debit card) filling much of the remainder domestically. PostFinance’s payment option (e-finance or card) is offered by many Swiss shops (our data shows it on ~5,700 sites) to cater to the large customer base of the national postal bank. Cards are important for both B2C and B2B (corporate cards, etc.), though Swiss B2B buyers sometimes still prefer invoice.
Bank Transfers & Invoicing – A significant share of Swiss e-commerce is essentially “pay after delivery.” Many Swiss shoppers choose to receive an invoice (often with a QR-bill) and pay it via their e-banking – this shows up in stats as bank transfer payments. Even online, merchants often offer “purchase on account.” Providers like Klarna have entered Switzerland to offer pay-later, but the concept was already ingrained. Sofort (Klarna’s direct bank transfer service) also appears in Swiss webshops (in ~12k of them per our data) as a popular option for real-time bank payments, used especially for cross-border transactions with Germany.
PayPal – PayPal enjoys steady use in Switzerland, but it’s not as dominant as in some other countries. It’s present on most international-facing Swiss shops and is popular for cross-border purchases or niche uses. Swiss consumers do use PayPal domestically, but with Twint and cards readily available, PayPal’s role is more as a universal fallback. Still, our scan found PayPal on ~22,600 Swiss sites – the single most common payment brand on Swiss shops – underscoring its broad presence even if volume share is smaller.
Local Banking Options – Apart from Twint, Swiss merchants may support one-click bank payment through services like eBill or direct debit for B2B, but these are less visible. Revolut’s new checkout option has also cropped up (around 4k sites) as Switzerland has many Revolut users; this is mainly to serve tech-savvy shoppers and cross-border customers with Revolut accounts.
Domestic vs international The Swiss market is small but high-spending, and cross-border e-commerce is significant (many Swiss buy from German, French, or global sites). Domestic shops therefore try to offer a mix of local and international methods. For instance, a Swiss webshop will almost certainly offer Twint and PostFinance for locals, but also Visa/Mastercard and PayPal to appeal to everyone (including cross-border shoppers or expatriates). International retailers entering Switzerland often integrate Twint now – given its reach, not having Twint could alienate a big chunk of local customers. At the same time, Swiss consumers use credit cards and PayPal especially when shopping on foreign sites, since those universally work. This dynamic means successful cross-border sellers into Switzerland either enable local methods via a PSP (Adyen, etc.) or rely on the Swiss buyer falling back to a credit card or PayPal. In summary, Swiss e-commerce shows a dual nature: traditional methods (bank transfer/invoice) remain very strong at home (pay.com), but mobile and global solutions are rapidly overlaying to facilitate seamless buying both domestically and across borders.
Denmark - Home of MobilePay
Denmark is a card-centric country with a twist – nearly every Dane has a Dankort (the national debit card, typically co-branded with Visa), so card payments have long been the norm. In 2024, about 37% of Danish online consumers cited paying by card as their primary method (ecommercenews.eu). Close on its heels, however, is MobilePay, used by roughly 33% of online shoppers as their preferred option (ecommercenews.eu). MobilePay, a mobile wallet linked to card or bank accounts, has become nearly ubiquitous (over 90% of Danes have the app, and virtually all younger adults do (statista.com)). PayPal and other methods exist but are less prominent – a few years ago PayPal accounted for ~13% of Danish online payments (oosga.com), and it remains a common option particularly for cross-border purchases. Overall, Denmark’s landscape mixes global card infrastructure with highly adopted local fintech solutions.
Key Providers and Roles:
Dankort / Card Payments – Debit/credit cards are still the #1 online payment method in Denmark by usage (ecommercenews.eu). The Danish Dankort (often used via Visa rails online) ensures almost anyone with a bank account can pay by card. Merchants benefit from well-established card processing and Danes’ comfort with cards for larger or recurring purchases. International cards (Visa, Mastercard) are widely accepted, which also covers foreign shoppers. For B2B e-commerce, cards (corporate cards) are common too.
MobilePay – Denmark’s signature mobile wallet app. MobilePay allows one-click or app-confirmation payments drawing funds from the user’s card or bank. It’s deeply ingrained in daily life; in e-commerce it’s become the convenient alternative to entering card details. With 33%+ share of online payments and growing (ecommercenews.eu), MobilePay is almost expected on Danish sites – from small boutiques to large retailers. For merchants, offering MobilePay can boost checkout conversion on mobile devices. Notably, MobilePay is popular in B2C contexts (fast checkout for consumers), while in B2B it’s used less (business buyers typically use cards or invoices).
PayPal – Widely available, though not top-of-mind for Danes domestically. Many Danish webshops include PayPal, especially those on platforms like WooCommerce/Shopify where it’s an easy plug-in. It serves mainly as a way to accept payments from international customers or cater to Danes who already have PayPal accounts. While only about 13% of Danish e-commerce shoppers used PayPal as of 2021 (oosga.com), it remains a useful cross-border channel – for example, Danes buying from eBay or foreign sites often use PayPal.
Local PSPs (Payment Service Providers) – Denmark has a robust set of payment gateways that serve merchants. QuickPay and OnPay are examples of Danish PSPs that many webshops use behind the scenes. These providers bundle various methods (cards, MobilePay, Viabill, etc.) and are particularly important for SMEs and B2B shops, as they handle the integrations and local acquiring. In our data, QuickPay appears on ~4,800 sites, indicating its strong presence. Such PSPs typically don’t matter to the consumer (who just sees the payment options they provide), but they are key enablers of the local payment ecosystem.
Buy Now, Pay Later and Others – Danes have access to BNPL options like ViaBill or Klarna, but uptake is more moderate compared to Sweden or Norway. Klarna is integrated in some Danish shops (~6,600 sites in our scan) targeting installment payments for consumers. However, Danish shoppers, being comfortable with cards, haven’t embraced BNPL to the same extent as Swedes. For B2B, offering payment on invoice is common (especially when selling to government or large companies, who use EAN invoicing), though that’s handled outside the online checkout or via invoicing services rather than through visible providers in checkout.
Domestic vs International Adoption Danish online retailers focus on domestic preferences first – supporting Dankort/Visa and MobilePay to cover the vast majority of local transactions. Cross-border, Denmark has a high rate of consumers buying from abroad (over half shop abroad monthly (ecommercenews.eu), so Danish merchants also consider methods that international shoppers use. This means accepting foreign Visa/Mastercards (no problem via standard acquiring) and often keeping PayPal available. International merchants selling into Denmark are wise to enable MobilePay – increasingly, payment platforms (like Stripe or Adyen or Shopify Payments) let them do so easily. We see that cross-border giants (Amazon, etc.) have started to include MobilePay for Danish customers. In summary, domestic Danish e-commerce is characterised by card and MobilePay dominance, whereas cross-border commerce relies more on international card networks and PayPal – but the gap is closing as local methods become accessible to foreign merchants too.
Finland: Paytrail dominates
Finnish online shoppers have a strong preference for direct bank payments. Rather than using individual bank buttons, Finland streamlined this through Paytrail, an aggregator that connects all major Finnish banks. As a result, online bank transfer solutions like Paytrail are the top choice for Finns (aboutpayments.com). According to industry info, Finnish consumers most prefer paying via their internet banking through services such as Paytrail or Trustly (aboutpayments.com). Cards are of course used as well, but historically Finland has seen lower credit card usage online than many other European countries. Instead, debit cards via bank transfer and recently mobile wallets are prominent. MobilePay (imported from Denmark) has also gained traction in Finland – it’s available and used by many, though not yet as dominant as in Denmark. Klarna is popular in Finland too (Finland was an early Klarna expansion market), and invoice payments are fairly common for certain purchases. In summary, Finland’s payment scene is a mix of bank-centric methods and a few select international options.
Key Providers and Roles:
Paytrail – Arguably the backbone of Finnish e-commerce payments. Paytrail (now part of the Nets/Nexi group) offers merchants a single contract to accept all Finnish online banking payments, cards, as well as local wallets and invoices (nexigroup.com). It is the most used online payment service in Finland’s e-commerce (mastercard.com), which aligns with our data where Paytrail appears very frequently (over 6,500 Finnish sites). For consumers, Paytrail provides a seamless interface to pay from any Finnish bank account, which is highly trusted and convenient. In practice, when a Finnish shopper chooses “online bank payment,” it’s often Paytrail processing it in the background. This method is equally relevant for B2C and B2B – businesses also appreciate paying directly from bank accounts.
Trustly – Another bank transfer option, used in Finland and across the Nordics. Trustly allows instant bank payments without leaving the merchant’s site. Finnish shoppers do use Trustly, but since Paytrail already covers domestic banks, Trustly’s role is more for cross-border scenarios (e.g. paying from a Finnish bank on a foreign site). Still, it’s noted as a top method after Paytrai (aboutpayments.com). Some Finnish merchants include Trustly in addition to Paytrail to capture every preference.
Cards (Visa/MasterCard) – International debit/credit cards are widely accepted and come next in popularity after bank transfers for Finns (aboutpayments.com). Finland historically had a strong culture of paying by bank rather than credit, but card usage is rising. Most Finnish cards are debit or dual-function cards, and many are used via Paytrail’s interface or via a PSP like Nets/Paytrail itself. For the merchant, accepting cards is essential for cross-border customers and for those Finnish buyers who prefer a familiar Visa/Mastercard flow or need to use a credit line.
Klarna – Finland is one of Klarna’s significant markets. Klarna’s pay-later and installment options are offered by a lot of Finnish online stores (our data shows Klarna on ~6,200 Finnish sites, nearly equal to MobilePay’s presence). Finnish consumers use Klarna mainly for splitting payments or buying on invoice, similar to Sweden but perhaps slightly less intensively. It’s a popular option for B2C retail (fashion, electronics – where try-before-you-buy or installment plans appeal). For merchants, Klarna brings potential conversion gains and is often included alongside traditional methods. In B2B sales, Klarna is not commonly used – Finnish businesses would use direct invoicing if they want post-payment.
MobilePay – Finland adopted MobilePay after Denmark (Danske Bank introduced it). Today, MobilePay is a commonly used wallet in Finland (aboutpayments.com), though its usage (by share of transactions) isn’t as high as in Denmark. Still, many Finnish shops (over 6,200 in our analysis) offer MobilePay at checkout. It’s popular for its ease on mobile devices and is used predominantly in B2C contexts (e.g. a consumer buying event tickets or clothes may opt for MobilePay instead of typing card details). With MobilePay’s merger with Vipps/Swish underway, Finns may see even more features, but already the app is a key part of the payments mix.
Other Local Pay-Later (Walley, etc.) – Finland has some specialized providers like Walley (formerly Collector Bank’s solution). Walley offers invoice and installment payments, including B2B invoicing solutions. It appears in Finnish e-commerce (about 1,800 sites in our data) as an option to “Pay by invoice 14 days” or similar, often under the Walley brand in checkout. This indicates a demand especially in B2B and larger consumer purchases for invoice-based payment. Similarly, Svea (a Swedish company but active in Finland) provides B2B financing and appears on some sites. These are important for B2B e-commerce or high-value consumer sales (furniture, machinery, etc.), where customers expect to be billed or finance the purchase rather than pay upfront.
Domestic vs International Finnish e-commerce is quite domestic-focused in method – a Finnish shopper expects to pay through their bank or an invoice. International merchants expanding to Finland often partner with Paytrail or a similar PSP to offer localized bank payments, because without those, they’d miss a large portion of sales. The prevalence of English-speaking Finns means many do shop on international sites, where they might then use a credit card or PayPal if Finnish bank options aren’t available. Indeed, PayPal is accepted on many Finnish sites (though not top-five in preference, it’s present on ~8,300 Finnish webshops per our data), functioning as a catch-all for cross-border transactions (e.g. paying a non-Finnish merchant). Adoption trends show that methods like Paytrail keep domestic transactions flowing in local currency and language, whereas global platforms like PayPal or card networks come into play for cross-border. Additionally, Finland being in the Eurozone makes cross-border shopping easier (no currency swap issues), so credit cards are slightly more used for EU-wide shopping. Finnish merchants, to expand abroad, will lean on PSPs that support international cards, PayPal, and possibly multi-currency – many use Stripe (found on ~4,200 Finnish sites) or Adyen for that reason. In sum, Finland has a strong local backbone (bank payments) that any entrant must integrate, and a willingness to layer global methods on top for broader reach.
Italy: PayPal’s Stronghold
Local Payment Landscape: Italy stands out for the prominence of PayPal in e-commerce. Italians have historically been cautious about online payments, leading them to gravitate towards PayPal for its perceived safety and buyer protection. Recent surveys show about 63% of Italian online consumers used PayPal in the past month, and 39% prefer PayPal over any other method – making it the #1 choice by far (rapyd.net). Credit and debit cards are of course used (especially with the widespread CartaSi/VISA and MasterCard), but only ~11% of Italians picked credit cards as their first choice, according to the same study (rapyd.net). Interestingly, a uniquely Italian method, the PostePay prepaid card (issued by the postal service), ranks high – about 12% choose it as their top payment method (rapyd.net). PostePay is essentially a reloadable Visa/Mastercard, and its popularity reflects Italians’ preference for controlled, cash-loaded spending. Cash on delivery (contrassegno) still lingers as an option in Italy for some categories, though its share is decreasing as digital payments grow. Overall, Italy’s online payment mix is a blend of global wallets, card networks (often through domestic brands like CartaSi or PostePay), and some remaining traditional methods.
Key Providers and Roles:
PayPal – The undisputed leader in Italian e-commerce payments. PayPal’s ubiquity is evident: it is integrated into the vast majority of Italian webshops (our dataset found it on ~56,000 sites, far more than any other provider in Italy). Its strengths – buyer protection, ease of use, and not requiring the buyer to expose card details – resonated strongly with Italian consumers who had security concerns. Many Italians also keep balances in PayPal or link it to bank accounts, using it almost like a bank alternative. For merchants, offering PayPal is almost a must for B2C, as not having it could mean losing a huge chunk of potential customers. Even in P2B (consumer-to-business) scenarios like freelance services or marketplace sales, PayPal is common. In B2B, PayPal is less used for large transactions, but small business services sometimes get paid via PayPal too. Notably, Italian merchants rely on PayPal not just domestically but to sell internationally – it’s a ready-made cross-border solution that handles multiple currencies and languages, which helped many Italian small businesses to reach global customers.
Credit/Debit Cards (CartaSi, Visa, Mastercard) – Card payments in Italy have grown but still face competition from PayPal and cash. Most online card usage is via Visa or Mastercard-branded cards, often issued as CartaSi (the domestic scheme, now Nexi) or as bank cards. Also, PostePay cards (Visa Electron/prepaid) are massively used by younger and unbanked consumers for online shopping. This means that while “card” as a category is significant, many Italians use them through intermediaries (like linking a PostePay to PayPal, or using the card via an Apple Pay wallet). For merchants, enabling card payments is standard – usually through PSPs like Nexi, Gestpay, Stripe, or international acquirers. However, due to high PayPal use, sometimes cards are effectively the secondary option on many sites. In B2B e-commerce, corporate credit cards are used for convenience (especially for SMEs buying software, travel, etc.), but larger purchases often go through bank transfer invoices.
Apple Pay / Google Pay – These mobile wallet options are present but not yet top of mind for Italian consumers. Apple Pay in particular is offered by many Italian banks and supported at many online checkouts (our data saw Apple Pay on ~15,000 Italian sites, which is significant). Still, surveys suggest Apple Pay and Google Pay are among the least preferred methods in Italy (rapyd.net). Their significance lies in convenience for the subset of users who have them set up – they streamline card use on mobile. As more Italians use their phones for shopping, these methods might grow. For now, they act as nice-to-have options in B2C (and essentially not used in B2B).
Local Banking and Cash Solutions – Italy has had some online banking payment attempts like MyBank (an EU-wide bank transfer system that was adopted by Italian banks) and the traditional bonifico (bank wire) for e-commerce. MyBank allows instant bank debits for online purchases, and some merchants do offer it. It hasn’t reached the ubiquity of Netherlands’ iDEAL, but it caters to those who prefer direct bank payment without cards. Cash on Delivery, while not a “payment provider,” is historically important in Italy – a portion of shoppers still choose to pay the courier in cash or card upon delivery. This method is declining year by year but remains in certain sectors (e.g. furniture, older demographics). Many merchants outsource the COD handling to logistics or just mark it as an option with a fee. It’s more relevant in B2C; B2B rarely uses COD (they’d just invoice).
Stripe, Braintree and PSPs – International PSPs like Stripe are quite popular among Italian online businesses (Stripe is the second-most common integration after PayPal in our Italy data, found on ~19,000 sites). These platforms let merchants accept cards, wallets, and even local methods through one gateway. Braintree (owned by PayPal) similarly powers many Italian webshops behind the scenes, enabling both card processing and PayPal integration. Local acquirers like Nexi (CartaSi) and UniCredit’s solutions also have a big merchant base, especially for larger retailers. In effect, PSPs ensure that Italian merchants can accept the mix of payment forms consumers expect. They are crucial in both B2C and B2B (for example, a B2B software SaaS might use Stripe to bill Italian companies via credit card or Sofort, etc.). Some newer options like Revolut Pay have also entered Italy – indeed, our scan saw Revolut on ~14k sites (likely merchants adding the Revolut Pay button to cater to Revolut users). These are still niche but indicate a willingness of merchants to experiment beyond the traditional set.
Domestic vs International Italian merchants historically catered to domestic buyers’ preferences (hence a heavy emphasis on PayPal). Now, with cross-border e-commerce growing (two-thirds of Italian shoppers have bought from international sites (rapyd.net)), Italian merchants are expanding their payment options. Many are adding methods like Amazon Pay (since Italians shop on Amazon’s platforms), or enabling multi-currency credit card processing to attract foreign customers. Likewise, foreign companies selling to Italy have learned that including PayPal at checkout is crucial – a UK or German site that adds PayPal might suddenly convert many more Italian buyers who trust PayPal over entering card details. We see platform-native solutions smoothing this process: for example, Shopify Payments allows a foreign merchant to offer Italian shoppers local payment options (like bonifico via Sofort or appropriate localized card forms) without that merchant needing an Italian banking relationship. Additionally, services like Klarna have recently launched in Italy as well, aiming to introduce more pay-later options; their usage is nascent but growing for cross-border purchases (e.g. an Italian buying from a German shop might use Klarna). In summary, Italy’s e-commerce shows a stark local preference for PayPal and familiar tools, and both domestic and international sellers adjust to that reality – often by prominently featuring PayPal, offering prepaid-friendly options, and maintaining trust signals. The reliance on platform solutions (PayPal, Amazon Pay, etc.) also lowers the friction of cross-border commerce for Italian consumers, effectively bridging domestic habits with international retail.
Norway: Vipps and Klarna
Norway’s consumers are highly digital and spend a lot online. Card payments are extremely common – in fact, Norway has one of the highest per-capita card usage rates. Cards (debit and credit combined) account for roughly 43% of all retail transactions (online and offline) in Norway (pay.com). The majority of these are through BankAxept, Norway’s domestic debit card system, which is co-branded with Visa/Mastercard for international acceptance (pay.com). Alongside cards, Norway has a very strong mobile payments culture thanks to Vipps, a mobile wallet app used by most Norwegians. Vipps has cornered the digital wallet market in Norway (pay.com), meaning alternatives like Apple Pay or Google Pay are secondary (though available). Klarna and other pay-later options are also popular – Norway, like other Nordics, embraced Klarna early for splitting or delaying payments. PayPal exists but plays a smaller role in day-to-day domestic payments (around 7% share of online transactions as per Norges Bank (pay.com)), used mainly for cross-border shopping. In summary, Norway’s landscape features high card usage with a layer of mobile wallet convenience and BNPL flexibility.
Key Providers and Roles:
BankAxept (Card payments) – BankAxept is the domestic debit network, ensuring that payments using Norwegian bank cards are processed cheaply and efficiently inside Norway. Practically every Norwegian has a BankAxept card. Online, when a customer pays by “card,” it often routes through BankAxept if domestic, or via Visa/MasterCard rails if needed. For merchants, accepting cards is non-negotiable – it covers debit and credit usage. Credit card usage is growing in Norway (almost one credit card per person in circulation (pay.com), and many online purchases – especially higher value or travel bookings – go on credit cards. In B2B, cards can be used for convenience too, but many companies also use invoices. Nonetheless, cards form the backbone of Norwegian e-commerce payments, making up a large chunk of transactions by value.
Vipps – Norway’s ubiquitous mobile payment app. Vipps allows users to pay online by confirming with their mobile number/app, similar to how one would use a wallet instead of entering card details. Virtually everyone in Norway knows and many use Vipps; it started as a peer-to-peer app but is now available for online checkouts, bill payments, etc. Vipps dominates Norwegian mobile payments, effectively sidelining other e-wallets domestically (pay.com). For online merchants, adding Vipps (via a PSP or Vipps API) can significantly smooth mobile conversion – a user can just choose Vipps and approve the purchase on their phone. Our data shows Vipps present on about 6,700 Norwegian sites, which implies a strong uptake (though not as high as MobilePay in DK, possibly because many international platforms were slower to integrate Vipps). In B2C, Vipps is extremely important, especially among younger shoppers and for quick purchases. In B2B, it’s less used (business purchases would more likely go via bank or invoice), but some small entrepreneurs might even accept Vipps for simplicity.
Klarna – Norway is one of Klarna’s significant markets outside Sweden. Klarna’s BNPL and invoicing services are widely offered by Norwegian merchants. Notably, Klarna is reported to account for about 18% of domestic online retail sales in Norway (pay.com), which is substantial. Many Norwegian shoppers enjoy the option to “buy now, pay later” or split payments, and Klarna provides that with its usual smooth user experience. Norwegian merchants, especially in fashion, electronics, and other retail segments, integrate Klarna to boost sales and AOV (average order value). In our dataset, Klarna actually appeared as the top payment-related provider on Norwegian sites (~8,700 sites), even above PayPal, indicating how common it is. For B2C, Klarna is a key player. For B2B, Klarna has a business offering (Klarna for business/Tillit – a local BNPL startup mentioned) but these are less prevalent; businesses typically aren’t using Klarna to pay invoices. Still, the concept of paying after receiving goods is also present in B2B via invoices – just not via Klarna’s interface.
PayPal – While not a leader domestically, PayPal has a steady presence in Norway. According to the central bank, it’s about 7% of online transaction volume (pay.com), which is modest, but it remains crucial for cross-border purchases. Norwegians shopping from international websites (where Vipps or Klarna might not be available) often rely on PayPal as a convenient and trusted method (pay.com). Likewise, Norwegian online sellers include PayPal to capture international sales or niche use cases. Our data found PayPal on ~8,300 Norwegian sites, nearly as many as Klarna. This suggests that even if Norwegians themselves don’t prioritize PayPal when domestic options exist, it’s still widely offered as a universal option. In B2B, PayPal usage would be rare except perhaps freelancers or software services.
Other Methods/PSPs – Norway’s market sees involvement from Nordic PSPs like Nets (now part of Nexi, historically handled a lot of card processing), as well as Stripe (our data: ~6,000 sites, showing many Norwegian businesses use Stripe to accept cards and other methods). Swish (the Swedish mobile pay) is not used in Norway, but interestingly, MobilePay (from Denmark) was merged with Vipps – yet in our data MobilePay appears on ~3,600 Norwegian sites. This could indicate cross-border Danish merchants or some early adoption in Norway; however, post-merger Vipps will cover that. Another mention is “Klarna’s Kustom Checkout” (seen as “Kustom” on ~1,300 sites) – this appears to be a one-stop checkout solution possibly by Klarna to integrate multiple methods. It’s relatively small but shows innovation in unified checkout experiences. For B2B, beyond standard invoice, some specialized services like Aprila or Svea might offer trade financing, but they didn’t prominently show up in top 10. Vipps does have a business-facing product (Vipps Faktura) to send invoices via Vipps app – highlighting again how consumer tools in Norway often extend into business use.
Domestic vs International Norway’s e-commerce players pay attention to both local preferences and the fact that Norway is outside the EU (which affects cross-border trade, VAT, etc.). Domestically, a Norwegian merchant will emphasize Vipps and Klarna alongside cards to maximize conversions – these are what local shoppers expect. Internationally, Norwegian merchants know that foreign customers won’t have Vipps, so they ensure card payments (Visa/Mastercard) and PayPal are available. Many also support Klarna’s global offering in other markets (since Klarna operates across Europe and even the US, a Norwegian merchant can offer pay-later to customers in those countries via Klarna). Moreover, with high English proficiency, Norwegians frequently shop abroad; when they do, they typically use cards or PayPal – indeed PayPal’s main utility in Norway is for cross-border purchases (pay.com). This behavior influences Norwegian e-commerce sites too: for example, the prevalence of PayPal on Norwegian sites is partly to reassure and facilitate sales to non-Norwegians (and to Norwegians who might prefer it in certain situations). Another interesting point is that as part of the Vipps-MobilePay merger, Nordic payment integration is improving – soon a Danish customer might pay a Norwegian shop with MobilePay and it seamlessly works with Vipps (and vice versa). This will strengthen cross-Nordic commerce by leveraging each country’s local wallet. In summary, Norway shows a pattern seen in the Nordics: very high local adoption of innovative payments, and a parallel support of global methods to engage in cross-border commerce.
Sweden: The land of Klarna and Swish
Sweden’s online payment landscape has two giants: Klarna and Swish. It’s often said that “everyone in Sweden uses Swish,” and that’s barely an exaggeration – about 98% of Swedish adults have Swish installed and ~95% use it regularly (ergomania.eu). Swish is a mobile payment system (bank account-linked) originally for P2P but now widely used in e-commerce and even brick-and-mortar. On the other hand, Klarna’s pay-later services (invoice, installment, etc.) account for a huge portion of Swedish e-commerce – over 50% of online transactions by value are open invoice payments (adyen.com) - many of those facilitated by Klarna and a handful of competitors. Credit/debit cards remain popular too (especially for some online services and travel), but Sweden stands out in that invoices/payment after delivery are the single largest category, surpassing cards (adyen.com). This is rooted in consumer behavior: Swedes historically liked to receive goods and pay by invoice, a practice that fintechs like Klarna turned into a smooth digital experience. Meanwhile, Swish’s instant bank transfers are siphoning off transactions that might have been card or cash. PayPal exists and is used in Sweden, but given the strong local options, it’s not a leading method for domestic shopping. Overall, Sweden is extremely advanced: high smartphone usage, multiple fintech solutions, and consumers comfortable with alternative payments.
Key Providers and Roles:
Klarna – The poster child of Swedish fintech, Klarna is omnipresent in Swedish e-commerce. It started with “Få först, betala sen” (get first, pay later) invoice payments and now offers everything from 30-day invoicing to installment plans and a smooth one-click checkout (Klarna Checkout) that many Swedish sites use as their entire payment frontend. Klarna claims a large share of the market – indeed open invoice methods (dominated by Klarna) exceed half of ecom transactions (adyen.com). In our data, Klarna was on ~22,300 Swedish sites, more than any other provider, which underlines its reach. For consumers, Klarna’s appeal is the flexibility and trust (you can return items before paying, etc.). For merchants, offering Klarna can increase sales, but it comes with fees – still, in Sweden it’s expected. Klarna also now includes card payments and even bank direct payments in its checkout, so some merchants use Klarna Checkout as a one-stop solution (which might also explain why cards are less separately visible). In B2C, Klarna is king. In B2B, while Klarna has business solutions, Swedish companies often rely on traditional invoicing (sometimes using competitors like Svea or just direct billing) for trade credit. Klarna’s brand is primarily consumer-focused in Sweden.
Swish – A mobile payment app backed by Sweden’s banks. Swish lets users instantly transfer money using just a phone number. It’s extremely popular for splitting bills, paying small merchants, and increasingly, paying online. Now, Swish is the most frequently used payment service in Swedish online shops and apps (snb.ch) by number of transactions. By 2024, more Swedes named Swish as their leading online payment brand over Klarna, which it overtook in popularity a few years ago (statista.com). For e-commerce, merchants display a Swish option; if chosen, the shopper approves the payment in the Swish app (which debits their bank). It’s effectively like a real-time bank transfer with mobile convenience. Swish is used for both B2C and informal B2B (e.g. small business or sole trader payments). For larger B2B, not so much, as companies prefer invoicing and not all have Swish for business set up. But Swish does have a business product and even charities, clubs etc. use Swish for payments. With 8+ million users (in a country of 10 million (ergomania.eu), any e-commerce catering to Sweden almost needs to accept Swish now.
Cards (Visa/Mastercard) – Despite the dominance of Klarna and Swish, cards still account for a significant chunk (around one-third of Swedish online payments by some estimates (ppro.com). Many Swedes have credit cards (often incentivized by loyalty programs) and still use them especially on sites that don’t offer Klarna or Swish (or for services like subscriptions, streaming, etc.). Swedish-issued cards are often co-badged with BankAxept-like debit or just are international Visas/Mastercards. Merchants usually accept cards via PSPs or via Klarna’s infrastructure. The interesting dynamic is that because Klarna Checkout can handle card payments, a shopper might enter card details on a Klarna form – from the user perspective they might not even realize the payment is by traditional card because Klarna or Swish overshadow it. In B2B, corporate cards might be used for things like travel bookings or online services (Swedish businesses have high card adoption for expenses). So cards remain an important method for both consumers and businesses, even if less celebrated.
Svea, Walley, and other BNPL/Invoice providers – Sweden has several other players in the invoice/payment plan space: Svea Ekonomi, Walley (Collector), Avarda, AfterPay (Riverty), etc. Adyen’s guide noted 5–6 providers offering invoices in Sweden (adyen.com). Klarna is the largest, but these others carve out niches (for example, Svea might power payments for some smaller retailers or specific sectors). Our data saw Svea on ~2,980 Swedish sites – notable though much smaller than Klarna’s footprint. These services often target both B2C and B2B (Svea and Walley have business credit solutions). For a merchant, choosing one of these can be about better fees or industry-specific offerings. The proliferation of invoice providers underscores how ingrained buy-now-pay-later is in Swedish commerce – there’s competition to grant consumers that convenience of paying after delivery.
PayPal and global wallets – PayPal is available in Sweden and quite a few Swedes have accounts, but its usage is limited compared to local solutions. It tends to be used for cross-border transactions (e.g. buying on international sites) or on marketplaces. Many Swedish merchants still offer PayPal – our data found it on ~18,600 sites – often as a “why not” addition for the few customers who prefer it or for foreign customers. Apple Pay and Google Pay are also supported by Swedish banks/cards and sometimes listed on checkouts (Apple Pay was on ~9,100 Swedish sites per our data). They haven’t achieved the same usage as Swish, but they do provide a fast checkout option especially for mobile and for users with international backgrounds. They’re more of a complement; for instance, a tech-savvy shopper might use Apple Pay on an iPhone instead of Swish if they find it quicker.
Domestic vs International: Swedish e-commerce players are very outward-looking (Swedes buy from international sites and Swedish sites sell abroad, especially to the EU). For domestic sales, not offering Klarna or Swish is almost unthinkable for a mainstream merchant – you’d lose too many sales. For cross-border, Swedish merchants rely on those platform capabilities: Klarna is expanding in many markets, so a Swedish merchant can offer Klarna in, say, Germany or the UK to attract foreign customers similarly. Swish, however, is domestic; a non-Swedish customer cannot use Swish, so Swedish merchants must also have card payments and PayPal to cover foreigners. This they generally do – either via a PSP or via Klarna Checkout (which by default shows local Swedish options but can fall back to card for others). International merchants entering Sweden often partner with Klarna to quickly gain local credibility. It’s common for foreign brands launching Swedish sites to heavily feature Klarna and Swish logos – it signals to Swedish shoppers that “you can trust and pay easily here”. Additionally, Sweden’s high trust in fintech means new entrants can get traction – e.g. Stripe is used by many startups in Sweden and can process Swish via plugins, so newcomers can offer Swish with minimal effort. Platform-native solutions like Shopify Payments also support local methods in Sweden (Shopify merchants can enable Klarna and Swish through integrations), which lowers the barrier for smaller foreign merchants to sell to Swedes. A noteworthy cross-border trend is the Nordics integration: with Vipps, MobilePay, and Swish collaborating, a merchant in one Nordic country might soon accept a wallet payment from a neighboring country’s app seamlessly. This will further blur domestic vs international in the Nordic region’s payments. All told, Sweden’s market is characterized by extremely strong local preferences (Swish, invoicing) that any successful player must adapt to, and a parallel accommodation of global methods for complete coverage. Swedish consumers will happily use a local method if available, but if shopping on a foreign site, they might use a card or PayPal – however, their expectation now is that more and more foreign sites will cater to them with Swedish methods.
Platform-native integrations and cross-market presence
One recurring theme across all these countries is the role of platform-native payment integrations – especially on popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce – in streamlining cross-border payment acceptance. Two prime examples are Shopify Payments (with its local method support) and PayPal’s ubiquitous plugins.
Shopify Payments (and Shop Pay) Shopify Payments is the built-in payment gateway for Shopify merchants, powered behind the scenes by providers like Stripe/Adyen. Crucially, it automatically enables relevant local payment methods based on the shopper’s region. For instance, a Shopify merchant in the US can easily accept Bancontact and iDEAL when selling to Belgium or the Netherlands – they simply toggle those on, no custom integration needed (help.shopify.com). Shopify Payments supports Bancontact, iDEAL, Sofort, EPS, Klarna, etc., depending on the market (help.shopify.com), meaning merchants on Shopify can localize their checkout experience at the flick of a switch. This has huge implications: it lowers the barrier for cross-market expansion since even small merchants can offer country-specific popular methods without in-depth knowledge. Additionally, Shop Pay, Shopify’s accelerated checkout, is available globally – it stores customer details for one-click payments across any Shopify store. Shop Pay itself isn’t a separate payment method funded by a bank or card, but it streamlines card payments and now even installments (Shop Pay Installments by Affirm in some countries). Its presence (noted in our data across countries, e.g. ~6–13k sites in each country had “Shop Pay” enabled) underscores the impact of platform features. Shop Pay improves conversion and thus indirectly encourages merchants to sell globally, knowing returning customers can pay faster. In essence, platform-native solutions like Shopify Payments abstract away complexity: a single integration gives a merchant Apple Pay, Google Pay, local methods and credit cards in one – very powerful for cross-border commerce.
WooCommerce & PayPal/Stripe integrations WooCommerce (the popular WordPress e-commerce plugin) relies on third-party payment gateways. PayPal and Stripe are two that have become nearly universal on WooCommerce sites globally. Because they are easy to install and free to use (no monthly fee, just transaction fees), many WooCommerce-based shops simply offer PayPal and Stripe out-of-the-box. This means an English WooCommerce site, a German one, or a Danish one – all likely have a similar PayPal checkout option (and Stripe powering card payments). Our analysis of PayPal’s presence found that a significant percentage of Shopify and WooCommerce stores across these countries have PayPal enabled – often 50% or more (e.g. ~72% in Italy, ~47% in Sweden, ~40% in Finland, ~62% in Belgium) based on the data of PayPal usage on those platform stores. This prevalence is no accident: PayPal comes built-in with Shopify and as a default plugin with WooCommerce, so many merchants leave it on as a convenient global method. The result is a kind of cross-market ubiquity – no matter if you’re shopping on a boutique in Oslo or a gadget store in Milan, you’re likely to see the PayPal button. That consistency gives consumers a familiar fallback and gives merchants confidence they can serve international customers (who might prefer PayPal if they’re unfamiliar with the local method on that site). Stripe’s integration on WooCommerce similarly allows merchants worldwide to accept not just cards but Apple Pay, Google Pay, and even local methods (if configured) like iDEAL or Klarna through Stripe. So, platform ecosystems have made a set of payment methods effectively universal across markets.
Cross-Border Influence of Key Players Certain providers emerge as bridges across countries. PayPal is the obvious one – present virtually everywhere, it’s the default cross-border wallet. Stripe/Adyen as PSPs power many local methods but are invisible to consumers; their influence is in enabling merchants to support the right mix in each market. Klarna has grown from a Swedish BNPL to a global brand now active in all the discussed countries – a German shopper, a Norwegian, an Italian can all use Klarna, making it a cross-border payment option in its own right. Apple Pay and Google Pay – while not top of any country’s list except perhaps on tech-centric sites – provide a unified experience for a segment of users across borders (a tech-savvy Swiss or Italian might choose Apple Pay in lieu of typing card details, for example). Mollie and Nets/Nexi (regional PSPs) are extending beyond their home (Mollie from NL into Belgium, France, etc., Nets from Nordics into DACH), contributing to cross-pollination of methods.
In summary, platform-native integrations and globally-oriented providers smooth out the differences between markets. They ensure that a merchant doesn’t have to integrate Bancontact, iDEAL, Klarna, Swish separately with different contracts – instead, one integration (be it Shopify Payments, PayPal, Stripe, etc.) covers it. This has led to a situation where key payment methods achieve strong cross-border presence despite being local in nature: for example, Bancontact can be accepted by a German Shopify store selling to Belgium, and iDEAL appears on UK websites via PayPal’s Braintree or Adyen. Likewise, a Dutch merchant can easily offer Klarna to German customers through a single PSP. The significance is huge for market entry and expansion: a merchant can enter a new European market and immediately offer the familiar local payment options through their existing platform, rather than needing to sign deals with local banks. This greatly lowers friction in European e-commerce, effectively enabling the regional patterns we’ve discussed to coexist with global e-commerce flows.
Conclusion: Regional patterns, cross-border champions, and the power of local preferences
Analysing these seven countries side by side reveals clear regional patterns and instructive differences:
Local dominance vs global universals Each country has one or two dominant local payment methods – Bancontact in Belgium, Twint in Switzerland, MobilePay in Denmark, Paytrail (bank transfers) in Finland, PayPal (local favourite) in Italy, Vipps (and cards) in Norway, Klarna/Swish in Sweden. These methods stem from local banking systems or consumer habits and command loyalty in their home markets. At the same time, global methods like credit cards and PayPal are present “just about everywhere” (retaildetail.eu) as the common denominators. Cards are accepted in all countries (even if not always first choice), and PayPal’s familiar checkout is offered broadly to capture cross-border shoppers. This duality means successful merchants typically combine the local must-haves with a baseline of global options.
North vs south vs central There’s a north-south divide of sorts. The Nordics (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland) are heavy on mobile wallets and pay-later solutions: MobilePay/Vipps/Swish and Klarna/Svea are household names there, reflecting a tech-forward consumer base and trust in digital finance. Central-West Europe (Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland) leans on bank-based payments: Bancontact, iDEAL, Twint, Sofort – these are all bank-account-direct methods, indicating the strength of bank networks and a preference for direct debit-style payments. Southern Europe (Italy) has been more cautious historically, thus PayPal (a “foreign” but trust-building method) and cash/prepaid solutions took hold. Understanding these cultural and historical contexts is key – one size does not fit all in Europe. A Nordics-focused merchant will prioritise mobile wallets and Klarna, whereas a Benelux-focused one must integrate local bank payments or risk losing most customers.
Cross-border influencers – key players Some payment providers have clearly managed to extend their influence across multiple countries: Klarna (originating in Sweden) is now a major player in Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium, etc., showing that a popular concept can travel – especially BNPL in regions with similar consumer credit cultures. PayPal remains a pan-European staple for cross-border commerce – even where it’s not #1 locally, it’s the safety net for transactions that cross languages or currencies. Stripe and Adyen (though behind the scenes) power a lot of this by enabling local method acceptance to non-local merchants – they are the unsung heroes making, for example, a French website feel native to a Dutch customer by offering iDEAL. Mollie has grown beyond the Netherlands into Belgium and even across Europe, thanks to its easy integration – it’s becoming a regional champion for SME payments. Meanwhile, regional collaborations (like the Vipps-MobilePay merger and its partnership with Swish) hint at the future: key local methods might interoperate across borders, effectively becoming multi-country methods. If that succeeds, a Nordic wallet could rival card schemes in cross-border utility within that region.
Platform power – shaping market entry The prevalence of Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and other platforms in online retail has greatly shaped how payments are adopted. These platforms have baked-in support for the dominant providers, which means merchants expanding to a new country often have the tools at their fingertips to accept the local payments. For example, a Canadian brand using Shopify entering the Dutch market can enable iDEAL and Bancontact via Shopify Payments in minutes – something that would have been a project on its own a decade ago. This reduces the friction of market expansion; payment localization is no longer a barrier reserved for enterprise retailers with local contracts, but available to SMBs. It also means that certain payment methods achieve widespread adoption simply by being defaults on platforms – PayPal’s presence on WooCommerce is a clear case. In effect, the e-commerce platforms act as conduits for spreading payment innovations across borders. If tomorrow a new payment method becomes huge in one country, chances are platform providers or PSPs will integrate it and thereby propagate it across thousands of merchants in multiple countries (much like Apple Pay rolled out or Klarna became a checkout option globally).
Consumer behaviour and trust Underpinning all of this, local consumer behaviour and trust patterns dictate what gets used. In Belgium and Netherlands, trust in one’s bank and domestic systems is high – hence bank-based methods flourish. In Italy, wariness about fraud led to a trust in PayPal and cash – only now gradually shifting toward more modern solutions as trust improves. Nordics have high trust both in technology and in credit, enabling things like Swish and Klarna to thrive. These patterns highlight that any payment provider trying to enter a new European market must contend with deeply ingrained habits. Often, partnering or integrating with existing local systems (as Mastercard did by co-badging Bancontact, or as Klarna did by offering localised invoice terms) is more successful than trying to impose a wholly new behaviour.
To conclude, European e-commerce payments are a mix of local traditions and global tech. Merchants aiming for success across these markets need to literally “speak the language” of payments in each country – be it offering installment invoices in Sweden, MobilePay in Denmark, or Bancontact in Belgium – while also providing cross-border staples like cards and PayPal to ensure no customer is left out. The good news is that modern payment platforms and providers have made this mapping far easier. The direction is clear: meet customers’ local expectations at checkout, and they will buy confidently, whether they’re next door or across the continent. By recognizing the strengths and focus of each payment provider (from Twint’s local sovereignty in Switzerland to PayPal’s cross-border indispensability), businesses can craft a payment strategy that feels native in every market they serve, B2C and B2B alike. This localized approach, backed by data and smart integrations, is increasingly what defines competitive advantage in Europe’s vibrant online payments landscape.
Our recent analysis of aggregated data from webshops in selected European countries confirms two straightforward insights about cross-border selling: webshops typically target neighbouring countries or seek out larger markets to grow their potential customer base. While these findings may seem intuitive, the data illustrates clearly how consistently webshops employ these strategies - particularly when supported by strong partnerships with local logistics providers and prioritised investments in localisation.
The obvious role of proximity Webshops in Denmark primarily target Sweden (18.9%) and Germany (18%), reflecting straightforward cross-border logistics and cultural familiarity. Similarly, Dutch webshops predominantly sell to Belgium (17.4%) and Germany (13.5%), confirming that short distances and established regional logistics make neighbouring countries natural first choices. Swedish webshops follow the same logic, favouring close neighbours Denmark (17.2%) and Finland (15.9%).
Targeting larger markets beyond proximity Webshops strategically pursue larger markets with robust consumer bases, such as Germany and France, regardless of direct proximity. For instance, Italian webshops commonly sell to Germany (14.2%) and France (14.1%), driven significantly by the size and high purchasing power of these markets, alongside geographical closeness.
Distinctive patterns in Eastern Europe Webshops in Hungary display notably low cross-border priority: only 4.4% offer shipping options to Germany, Slovakia, and Romania. This cautious approach likely reflects specific economic calculations, infrastructural limitations, or less developed cross-border logistics partnerships, rather than purely geographical factors.
Latvian webshops clearly illustrate the proximity factor again, heavily targeting neighbouring Lithuania (16.8%) and Estonia (15.9%), highlighting ease of trade through geographic and cultural closeness.
Notable differences in cross-border engagement levels A significant finding from the data is the variation in how actively webshops pursue international markets. Factors driving these differences include the maturity of the domestic e-commerce market, logistical infrastructure, consumer purchasing power, and particularly the level of investment into localisation and logistics solutions. Engagement levels notably decline with increasing distance, indicating logistical complexity and higher costs likely deter webshops from extensive international expansion beyond neighbouring or well-established larger markets.
Concluding remarks Our aggregated data confirms proximity and market size as primary drivers for cross-border e-commerce decisions. However, the diverse patterns and varying engagement levels suggest that webshop decisions are influenced by more complex strategic factors, including infrastructural readiness, economic conditions, logistical capabilities, and the willingness to invest in localised consumer experiences. These factors ultimately shape cross-border success far more than geographical closeness alone.
Our recent analysis of aggregated data from webshops in selected European countries confirms two straightforward insights about cross-border selling: webshops typically target neighbouring countries or seek out larger markets to grow their potential customer base. While these findings may seem intuitive, the data illustrates clearly how consistently webshops employ these strategies - particularly when supported by strong partnerships with local logistics providers and prioritised investments in localisation.
The obvious role of proximity Webshops in Denmark primarily target Sweden (18.9%) and Germany (18%), reflecting straightforward cross-border logistics and cultural familiarity. Similarly, Dutch webshops predominantly sell to Belgium (17.4%) and Germany (13.5%), confirming that short distances and established regional logistics make neighbouring countries natural first choices. Swedish webshops follow the same logic, favouring close neighbours Denmark (17.2%) and Finland (15.9%).
Targeting larger markets beyond proximity Webshops strategically pursue larger markets with robust consumer bases, such as Germany and France, regardless of direct proximity. For instance, Italian webshops commonly sell to Germany (14.2%) and France (14.1%), driven significantly by the size and high purchasing power of these markets, alongside geographical closeness.
Distinctive patterns in Eastern Europe Webshops in Hungary display notably low cross-border priority: only 4.4% offer shipping options to Germany, Slovakia, and Romania. This cautious approach likely reflects specific economic calculations, infrastructural limitations, or less developed cross-border logistics partnerships, rather than purely geographical factors.
Latvian webshops clearly illustrate the proximity factor again, heavily targeting neighbouring Lithuania (16.8%) and Estonia (15.9%), highlighting ease of trade through geographic and cultural closeness.
Notable differences in cross-border engagement levels A significant finding from the data is the variation in how actively webshops pursue international markets. Factors driving these differences include the maturity of the domestic e-commerce market, logistical infrastructure, consumer purchasing power, and particularly the level of investment into localisation and logistics solutions. Engagement levels notably decline with increasing distance, indicating logistical complexity and higher costs likely deter webshops from extensive international expansion beyond neighbouring or well-established larger markets.
Concluding remarks Our aggregated data confirms proximity and market size as primary drivers for cross-border e-commerce decisions. However, the diverse patterns and varying engagement levels suggest that webshop decisions are influenced by more complex strategic factors, including infrastructural readiness, economic conditions, logistical capabilities, and the willingness to invest in localised consumer experiences. These factors ultimately shape cross-border success far more than geographical closeness alone.
Last‑mile delivery shapes the online shopping experience, influencing conversion rates, repeat purchases and brand perception.
At Tembi, we analysed over 600,000 webshops to understand two aspects of last‑mile competition in 17 European markets, the market share of the top delivery provider and the number of distinct delivery partners each webshop integrates, and how these factors drive innovation and strategy.
Delivery providers with the highest market presence in webshops’ checkout flows, by country.
Methodology: Tracking integrations not shipments
Rather than estimating parcel volumes, we examined the presence of delivery providers in webshop back‑ends. Every integration represents a commitment by the webshop to offer that carrier at checkout. By counting integrations, we capture:
• Breadth of choice available to consumers
• Carrier prominence within each market
For each country - from Belgium to Slovakia - we identified the top three providers by share of webshop integrations and counted the total number of providers in active use. We excluded providers that have less than 1% market presence.
These figures show that while national postal services still lead in many markets, no single carrier dominates everywhere, and the number of options ranges from three providers in Iceland to more than twenty in the Netherlands.
Consolidated vs Fragmented markets
We classify markets by the checkout presence held by the leading provider:
Highly fragmented (leader < 33%) Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Romania
Fragmentation in focus, number of competing providers
Adding the count of distinct delivery partners shows where compeition is the hightst:
Most fragmented markets, such as the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden, offer webshops a broad selection of carriers to tailor delivery options by region, price‑point and service level. In the Netherlands, for instance, there are over twenty distinct last‑mile providers active across the market. By contrast, in Iceland and Bulgaria webshops have fewer providers to choose from, simplifying management but concentrating risk, and less consumer choice. Finland sits between these extremes, with around fourteen partners in use yet Posti being present in 62% of all webshop checkouts.
Analysis, geography, national postal providers and innovation
Geography plays a crucial role in shaping last‑mile dynamics. In countries with vast rural areas and archipelagos - most notably Finland and Sweden - webshops need delivery partners that can reliably serve both remote villages and dense urban centres. National posts excel at this: Posti’s 62 percent presence in Finland and PostNord’s 33 percent in Sweden reflect their ability to cover every corner of the country, from Lapland to the Helsinki suburbs, or from the Stockholm archipelago to the far north. This extensive network cements their leadership and makes it challenging for smaller couriers to compete on a truly national scale.
At the same time, urban populations in these markets demand faster and more flexible options. That’s why even highly consolidated markets like Finland still see around fourteen delivery partners in use, and Sweden nearly eighteen. Specialist providers focus on city‑centre same‑day deliveries, parcel locker networks and niche eco‑services, carving out space alongside the national postal incumbent.
By contrast, in highly fragmented markets such as the Netherlands, Italy and Romania, geography is less of a barrier - population density is higher and distances shorter - so webshops routinely offer 18 to 22 different providers to meet varied consumer preferences. National posts such as PostNL and Poste Italiane must innovate continually, rolling out premium services like carbon‑neutral shipping, click‑and‑collect lockers and advanced tracking, and partnering with crowd‑shipping or on‑demand couriers to fill gaps.
In moderately consolidated markets - Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and the Baltics - the mix reflects mid‑range geography and market size. National posts share the stage with regional specialists (such as GLS and DPD), driving innovation in service differentiation, tech integration and sustainability (electric fleets, bike couriers, offset programmes).
Finally, in smaller or more remote markets like Iceland and Bulgaria, webshops often layer core postal services with a handful (three to five) of local same‑day or on‑demand couriers to ensure coverage. Even here, national posts are expanding parcel‑locker footprints and app‑based tracking to meet rising consumer expectations - while keeping a watchful eye towards rapidly growing new digital-first ventures.
Understanding these overlapping factors - market consolidation, provider fragmentation and geographic realities - allows e‑commerce leaders to tailor last‑mile strategies. In widespread, low‑density regions, deep partnerships with national posts ensure full coverage; in dense, competitive markets, robust multi‑carrier technology and innovative niche services deliver the flexibility consumers expect.
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Last‑mile delivery shapes the online shopping experience, influencing conversion rates, repeat purchases and brand perception.
At Tembi, we analysed over 600,000 webshops to understand two aspects of last‑mile competition in 17 European markets, the market share of the top delivery provider and the number of distinct delivery partners each webshop integrates, and how these factors drive innovation and strategy.
Delivery providers with the highest market presence in webshops’ checkout flows, by country.
Methodology: Tracking integrations not shipments
Rather than estimating parcel volumes, we examined the presence of delivery providers in webshop back‑ends. Every integration represents a commitment by the webshop to offer that carrier at checkout. By counting integrations, we capture:
• Breadth of choice available to consumers
• Carrier prominence within each market
For each country - from Belgium to Slovakia - we identified the top three providers by share of webshop integrations and counted the total number of providers in active use. We excluded providers that have less than 1% market presence.
These figures show that while national postal services still lead in many markets, no single carrier dominates everywhere, and the number of options ranges from three providers in Iceland to more than twenty in the Netherlands.
Consolidated vs Fragmented markets
We classify markets by the checkout presence held by the leading provider:
Highly fragmented (leader < 33%) Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Romania
Fragmentation in focus, number of competing providers
Adding the count of distinct delivery partners shows where compeition is the hightst:
Most fragmented markets, such as the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden, offer webshops a broad selection of carriers to tailor delivery options by region, price‑point and service level. In the Netherlands, for instance, there are over twenty distinct last‑mile providers active across the market. By contrast, in Iceland and Bulgaria webshops have fewer providers to choose from, simplifying management but concentrating risk, and less consumer choice. Finland sits between these extremes, with around fourteen partners in use yet Posti being present in 62% of all webshop checkouts.
Analysis, geography, national postal providers and innovation
Geography plays a crucial role in shaping last‑mile dynamics. In countries with vast rural areas and archipelagos - most notably Finland and Sweden - webshops need delivery partners that can reliably serve both remote villages and dense urban centres. National posts excel at this: Posti’s 62 percent presence in Finland and PostNord’s 33 percent in Sweden reflect their ability to cover every corner of the country, from Lapland to the Helsinki suburbs, or from the Stockholm archipelago to the far north. This extensive network cements their leadership and makes it challenging for smaller couriers to compete on a truly national scale.
At the same time, urban populations in these markets demand faster and more flexible options. That’s why even highly consolidated markets like Finland still see around fourteen delivery partners in use, and Sweden nearly eighteen. Specialist providers focus on city‑centre same‑day deliveries, parcel locker networks and niche eco‑services, carving out space alongside the national postal incumbent.
By contrast, in highly fragmented markets such as the Netherlands, Italy and Romania, geography is less of a barrier - population density is higher and distances shorter - so webshops routinely offer 18 to 22 different providers to meet varied consumer preferences. National posts such as PostNL and Poste Italiane must innovate continually, rolling out premium services like carbon‑neutral shipping, click‑and‑collect lockers and advanced tracking, and partnering with crowd‑shipping or on‑demand couriers to fill gaps.
In moderately consolidated markets - Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and the Baltics - the mix reflects mid‑range geography and market size. National posts share the stage with regional specialists (such as GLS and DPD), driving innovation in service differentiation, tech integration and sustainability (electric fleets, bike couriers, offset programmes).
Finally, in smaller or more remote markets like Iceland and Bulgaria, webshops often layer core postal services with a handful (three to five) of local same‑day or on‑demand couriers to ensure coverage. Even here, national posts are expanding parcel‑locker footprints and app‑based tracking to meet rising consumer expectations - while keeping a watchful eye towards rapidly growing new digital-first ventures.
Understanding these overlapping factors - market consolidation, provider fragmentation and geographic realities - allows e‑commerce leaders to tailor last‑mile strategies. In widespread, low‑density regions, deep partnerships with national posts ensure full coverage; in dense, competitive markets, robust multi‑carrier technology and innovative niche services deliver the flexibility consumers expect.
Stay tuned for more insights and sign-up to our monthly newsletter.
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